How Old Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Throughout The Star Wars Franchise
Obi-Wan’s age in the Star Wars franchise is one of the saga’s most confusing elements. Here’s how old Obi-Wan really is in every Star Wars movie.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in the Star Wars franchise can be confusing. Obi-Wan first appeared in A New Hope, originally titled Star Wars, played by Sir Alec Guinness. Despite Obi-Wan's death in A New Hope, the character returned for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. As part of the Star Wars prequels, Obi-Wan returned to the big screen with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, now played by Ewan McGregor.
McGregor reprised his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. More than 15 years after Obi-Wan’s battle against Anakin in Revenge of the Sith, Ewan McGregor’s version of the character was revisited on Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. The fact that two actors have played Obi-Wan Kenobi in live-action helps to make Obi-Wan’s age in the Star Wars franchise one of the saga’s most confusing elements.
How Old Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Throughout The Star Wars Prequels
Obi-Wan was born in 57 BBY - 57 years before the Battle of Yavin. As such, Obi-Wan Kenobi was 25 years old in The Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones picks up the story 10 years after the events of The Phantom Menace, meaning that Obi-Wan Kenobi was 35 years old in Episode III. The Clone Wars were fought for three years, with Obi-Wan being 38 by the time the conflict was ending. In other words, Obi-Wan was 38 years old during Revenge of the Sith. As a comparison, Ewan McGregor was 28 during The Phantom Menace and 34 during Revenge of the Sith.
Perhaps the biggest source of confusion between how Obi-Wan looks in A New Hope and the prequels comes from the fact that the original Star Wars movie suggests that the high of the Jedi Knights happened several decades ago. However, when crafting the Star Wars prequels, George Lucas set The Phantom Menace relatively close to the original trilogy – only 32 years separate Episodes I and IV. The ten-year time jump between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones also didn’t help, as Obi-Wan was supposed to have aged ten years when only three years had passed in the real world.
How Old Obi-Wan Kenobi Is In His Solo Show & A New Hope
Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Therefore, Obi-Wan is 48 years old in his solo show. As a comparison, Ewan McGregor was 50 years old when filming for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series began. A New Hope, the movie used as a reference for the Star Wars timeline, takes place in 0 BBY. Therefore, Obi-Wan is 57 years old in A New Hope. Sir Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy, was 62 years old when filming A New Hope. Guinness would then reprise his role as Obi-Wan in two more films.
Although Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi returned in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a Force ghost, the character officially died at 57. Curiously, considering that Alec Guinness was five years older than Obi-Wan in A New Hope and that Ewan McGregor was always younger than Obi-Wan during the prequels, the closest that an Obi-Wan actor came to having the same age as the character was in Ewan McGregor in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. While Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi could have tried to match Obi-Wan’s looks in the first Star Wars film a bit more, it certainly added to the transition between McGregor’s Obi-Wan into Guinness’ Obi-Wan.
Next: All 9 Times Obi-Wan Fought General Grievous In Star Wars Canon (& Who Won)
