Out of all the exciting Star Wars content coming to Disney+ over the next couple of years, arguably the most highly anticipated of them all is Obi-Wan Kenobi, a six-part event series in which Ewan McGregor will reprise the titular role in the interim between the prequel and original trilogies when he was exiled on Tatooine.
The official cast list posted on the Star Wars website promises a tantalizing mix of familiar faces returning to iconic roles and promising newcomers playing undisclosed characters. These actors are confirmed to appear in the series.
Ewan McGregor
Right off the bat, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s most exciting cast member is Ewan McGregor reprising his role from the prequel trilogy as the titular Jedi. The series will pick up midway between the prequel and original trilogies when he was exiled on Tatooine and the survivors of Order 66 were being hunted down by the Empire.
Whereas McGregor crafted his own take on a young Obi-Wan in the prequels, he’s promised that his turn as an older Kenobi in the new Disney+ series will be more heavily inspired by Alec Guinness’ iconic work in the original trilogy.
Joel Edgerton
Alongside McGregor, Joel Edgerton will reprise his role from the prequels as Owen Lars, hinting at the appearance of a young Luke Skywalker. In the years since the prequels hit theaters, Edgerton has starred in such acclaimed movies as Warrior, Loving, and It Comes at Night.
Owen is dismissive of Obi-Wan when Luke asks about him in the original trilogy. This series could serve to explain why Owen has a chip on his shoulder about the wise old Jedi. He might blame him for Anakin’s downfall.
Bonnie Piesse
Where there’s Uncle Owen, there’s Aunt Beru. When Joel Edgerton was confirmed to be reprising his role as Owen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Bonnie Piesse was also confirmed to be reprising her role as Owen’s wife Beru.
In the original 1977 Star Wars movie, Luke is already fully grown and ready to leave his aunt and uncle’s moisture farm. The Obi-Wan series can offer a more in-depth look at how they went about secretly raising Darth Vader’s son.
Kumail Nanjiani
Joining the Star Wars universe with a supporting role in Obi-Wan Kenobi is the latest in a long line of great career moves for Kumail Nanjiani. After the role of Dinesh in HBO’s Silicon Valley brought Nanjiani widespread recognition, co-writing the Oscar-nominated script for The Big Sick with his wife Emily V. Gordon (and starring in the film) solidified his place at the forefront of the cultural landscape.
Nanjiani is also set to join another giant, beloved sci-fi universe with the role of ancient cosmic superhero Kingo in the upcoming Marvel blockbuster Eternals.
O’Shea Jackson, Jr.
Since making his acting debut playing his dad in Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. has carved out a pretty impressive filmography. He appeared in Long Shot, Just Mercy, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019 alone.
Recently, Jackson has made the transition into streaming television. In addition to playing lead roles in Swagger! and The Now, he’ll play a supporting role in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend has been cast in Obi-Wan Kenobi in an undisclosed role. Friend’s profile has been significantly boosted in recent years with varied roles like Agent 47 in the Hitman reboot and the son of Joseph Stalin in The Death of Stalin.
Friend is also set to appear in the massive ensemble cast of Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, which also includes Anderson regulars like Bill Murray, Anjelica Huston, and Owen Wilson.
Benny Safdie
Benny Safdie is another actor who’s confirmed to be appearing in a supporting role in Obi-Wan Kenobi while everything about the role itself is being kept under wraps.
Safdie is primarily known as a director, having helmed such crime thrillers as Good Time and Uncut Gems with his brother Josh, but he did star in Good Time alongside Robert Pattinson.
Sung Kang
Sung Kang will appear in the Obi-Wan series in an as-yet-undisclosed role. Kang, of course, is most renowned for playing the role of Han in the Fast & Furious franchise. The character proved to be so popular that the Fast producers circumvented the timeline to keep him for three more movies after his character was killed off.
Following a lengthy #JusticeForHan campaign, the character was finally resurrected this year in F9, which brought Kang back into the main Fast Saga timeline ahead of the series’ two-part Avengers-style finale.
Maya Erskine
Maya Erskine is one of the many actors who have been cast in Obi-Wan Kenobi in an undisclosed role. Erskine’s best-known work is PEN15, which she co-created with Anna Konkle and Sam Zvibleman.
Erskine and Konkle star as their 13-year-old selves, getting into painfully relatable teenage situations, surrounded by actually teenaged actors. It’s a show that shouldn’t work, but still succeeds splendidly.
Hayden Christensen
The most surprising casting news to come from the Obi-Wan series is Hayden Christensen reprising the role of Darth Vader. It’s unclear how Christensen will be incorporated into the show’s portrayal of Vader, since he’s confined to the suit at this point in the saga and any voice besides James Earl Jones’ would sound weird, but the show promises a rematch between Obi-Wan and his fallen apprentice.
There’s been a lot of debate about whether this rematch will negate the emotional payoffs of their duels on Mustafar and the Death Star, but Lucasfilm could have some mind-blowing fan service up its sleeve.