Obi-Wan Kenobi once again has the high ground, as he'll be starring in a comic book limited series from Marvel written by Christopher Cantwell (Halt & Catch Fire, Iron Man) and drawn by veteran Star Wars artist Ario Anindito. Announced on StarWars.com, the five-issue Obi-Wan series is scheduled to debut this May.
Set in the "final days" before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, Marvel's Obi-Wan series will have the trusted Jedi master recounting and contextualizing his life, and his career as a member of the Jedi War.
"What I love about Obi-Wan is that he is so much a character of patience and fortitude. He holds out hope and keeps that flame going even in the darkest times," says Cantwell. "He lost his Master, his best friend…he’s experienced a lot of grief. But he pushes forward. He waits on Tatooine for decades. He is the Buddhist concept of kshanti — patience — personified. He is able to hold onto the glimmers of light amidst the cloak of darkness. Every issue thematically deals with his ability to do that as a person."
Cantwell remembers seeing Return of the Jedi as a precocious three-year old, and admits he "wore out" a VHS tape of A New Hope his parents recorded upon its television debut in 1984. But the TV/comics writer is approaching writing Obi-Wan from childhood to the final days before his death not as a young Star Wars fan, but as the real-life father to an eight-year-old son of his home.
"I love seeing the world through his eyes because it reminds me of what it was like when I was his age. I very much tried to tap into that," Cantwell says. "There's this idea in the first issue of being small in a massive universe. Every kid feels that way. I also wanted to make sure I got all the details right…and there are LOT of details to get right when it comes to Star Wars."
Cantwell confirms that Obi-Wan will include appearances from Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker, and more.
Of course, Lucasfilm's Obi-Wan Kenobi streaming series is expected to debut on Disney Plus sometime this year as well.
Neither Lucasfilm nor Marvel has said when exactly in May Obi-Wan #1 will debut, but given May 4 (as in May the Fourth be With You) falls on Marvel's usual comic book shipping day of Wednesday, that sounds like a perfect time for us.
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