Here's when Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place in the Star Wars timeline, including how long after Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith but before A New Hope the show is set. Disney+'s Star Wars shows are revisiting several familiar characters, timelines, and locations, ranging from Andor, a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, to The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Chief among Disney's plans is Obi-Wan Kenobi, which releases on May 25, 2022 and see Ewan McGregor return as the eponymous Jedi Master.
A lot of plot details for Obi-Wan Kenobi are still under wraps, including who most of the show's cast are playing. Still, it's known that, alongside McGregor, there will be other returning Star Wars characters: Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse are back as Owen and Beru Lars, and biggest of all is Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. Disney has promised the show will include an epic rematch between Obi-Wan and Vader, though exactly how that plays out remains to be seen.
With Vader back, that makes Obi-Wan's timeline all the more intriguing, given it will presumably be the first time they've seen each other since their duel on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place after the prequels, but before the original trilogy - an era Star Wars canon has covered in a variety of ways, but less so with Obi-Wan himself. There's room for a lot of explorations of and additions to these characters' stories, which its timeline very much allows for.
Obi-Wan Kenobi's Star Wars Timeline: When It Takes Place After Revenge Of The Sith
Disney has revealed a concrete place in the Star Wars timeline for the show, as Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place 10 years after Revenge of the Sith. As far as anyone knows, Obi-Wan has spent that time in exile on Tatooine, keeping watch over Luke Skywalker (who will, of course, be 10 himself in the show, and could well appear given his aunt and uncle will), while Darth Vader has spent those years helping to establish the Empire's galactic dominance and snuff out any lingering remains of the Jedi Order. At this point in the timeline, Obi-Wan (now Ben Kenobi) will be living as a hermit in the Jundland Wastes, although Star Wars canon has shown how he still got involved in Luke's life and Tatooine issues in general, including interfering against Jabba the Hutt (although that is a little after the show's given time period). It could also show how Obi-Wan learns to become a Force Ghost, something it's believed happened while on Tatooine as well.
Alongside its timeline after Revenge of the Sith, it also means Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place nine years before A New Hope and his last fateful meeting with his old apprentice, which will see Vader kill Obi-Wan on the Death Star. A lot more will happen in that time period - for instance, Obi-Wan's final duel with Maul takes place two years before A New Hope - and the timeline allows for the Obi-Wan Kenobi show to be flexible, while it could also incorporate flashbacks to the prequels if necessary. It may also need to explain how Kenobi so visibly ages: Obi-Wan is 48-years-old during the show's timeline (McGregor himself is 50), but looks much older in A New Hope when played by Alec Guinness, so he'll have a lot of changing to do in those nine years.