Obi-Wan Kenobi might not be considered a lead character in the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, but he is surely one of the leads and one of the most frequently recurring characters in ‘Star Wars’ history. However, One thing that seems confusing throughout all of Kenobi’s appearances is his age. So, how old was Obi-Wan Kenobi in every ‘Star Wars’ movie?
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in ‘A New Hope’
To get to all the ‘confusion’ about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age, we must first establish the timeline of his life and death throughout the ‘Star Wars’ franchise, including the movies, and his Disney+ spin-off show.
As we mentioned, Obi-Wan Kenobi first appeared in ‘Star Wars: A New Hope,’ now also known as ‘Episode IV.’ The events of ‘A New Hope’ – the Battle of Yavin – are taken as a reference point, or Year Zero, when establishing the Star Wars universe timeline. Meaning ‘A New Hope’ occurs in 0 BBY, or 0 ABY, whatever you see fit.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was born on the planet Stewjon in 57 BBY, meaning that he was 57 years old when he took Luke Skywalker under his wing as a Padawan. For reference, Sir Alec Guinness – the actor portraying Obi-Wan Kenobi in the movie – was 62 years old at the time of filming.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
While Obi-Wan Kenobi died at the hands of Darth Vader in ‘A New Hope,’ the character did appear in both ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi.’
In Episode V, Obi-Wan Kenobi would, therefore, still be 57 years old – or, better said, his Force Ghost would appear as a 57-year-old Kenobi, the same age when he died. ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ took place three years after ‘A New Hope’ – which would make Obi-Wan Kenobi 60 years old at the time, had he survived the previous movie.
Much like ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ took place three years after ‘A New Hope’ in the Star Wars universe timeline, it was also released in 1980 – three years after the first film. This means that Sir Alec Guinness was a 65-year-old man when he appeared in this particular film, portraying a 57-year-old Force Ghost.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in ‘Return of the Jedi’
Again, Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared as a 57-year-old Force Ghost, but he would be 61 years old had he survived, as ‘Return of the Jedi’ takes place in 4 ABY – only a year after the previous film was finished.
Episode VI was released in 1983, so Sir Alec Guinness was filming his scenes at the young age of 68, again portraying a 57-year-old Force Ghost. Do you see how Obi-Wan’s age-versus appearance is already becoming a bit problematic?
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in ‘The Phantom Menace’
In 1999, the first prequel film was released – ‘The Phantom Menace.’ Ewan McGregor took on the role of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi – a role that is likely the most distinguishable role of his entire rich, illustrious career.
‘The Phantom Menace’ took place in 32 BBY, so Obi-Wan Kenobi was a 25-year-old Padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn. Ewan McGregor was 28 years old at the time of filming Episode I, which made his age in the film quite believable. And this is where the first issue strikes.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in ‘Attack of the Clones’
Allegedly, ten years have passed, so it’s now 22 BBY on the Star Wars timeline. Anakin Skywalker is now Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Padawan, and Kenobi is a 35-year-old Jedi.
Seeing that the character had aged ten years, but the movie was released in 2002 – only three years after Episode I – Ewan McGregor was 31 while portraying a 35-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s not that big of a difference on its own, but ten years of the character’s aging compared to three years of the actor’s aging seemed a bit too low and perhaps implausible to the naked eye.
Especially when you consider the speed at which Obi-Wan seemed to have aged during his years in exile – but we’re getting there.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in ‘Revenge of the Sith’
At this heartbreaking moment in Star Wars history – when Anakin Skywalker fell to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader – Obi-Wan Kenobi was 38 years old, as ‘Revenge of the Sith’ takes place in 19 BBY. Ewan McGregor was 34 years old while filming Episode III, which was released in 2005.
And then, we waited almost two decades for him to return as Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age in the ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series
The ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series on Disney+ officially takes place ten years after ‘Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ – in 9 BBY. That would make Obi-Wan Kenobi a 48-year-old man in the series, whereas Ewan McGregor was 50 while filming the show. That marks the closest actor-to-character age gap for Obi-Wan Kenobi in history.
Interestingly, as only three years of real-time passed, but ten years of Star Wars history passed between Episodes I and II, now the tables were turned. Allegedly, ten years passed again between Episode III and the ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series, whereas 17 years had passed in real life.
Perhaps that is why Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Ewan McGregor, if you will, seemed to have aged much more dramatically in those ten years than he did in the ten years between Episodes I and II. But that’s not the end of Kenobi’s age confusion.
How could Obi-Wan Kenobi age so drastically between ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ and ‘A New Hope’?
So, if ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ took place in 9 BBY, it means that our good ol’ Ben went completely gray and aged from Ewan McGregor’s to Sir Alec Guinness’s Obi-Wan appearance incredibly fast – in only nine years, to be precise. How, or why, did that happen?
The honest answer is that the show and the movie were filmed decades apart and with different actors portraying Obi-Wan. They couldn’t recast Kenobi for the show, and nobody would even question his age – if they found a 50-ish-year-old-looking actor.
But, they wanted McGregor, and we as fans wanted McGregor, so the actor’s natural aging process gave us the appearance of Obi-Wan still looking quite young at the age of 48, and then completely gray and grandpa-like (I mean that in the most positive, respectful way) at the age of 57 during ‘A New Hope.’
The practical answer – or in-canon explanation, if you will – is that Obi-Wan’s years of exile in the harsh conditions of Tatooine, combined with his grief and emotional pain, caused his body to age dramatically over that decade or so.
To add to that, there are theories that, in order to avoid detection of himself or Luke from Darth Vader, Ben Kenobi had to use the Force to essentially ‘hide’ them from Vader’s sight – or Vader’s and the Emperor’s ability to sense them through the Force.
Imagine having to do that for decades, 24 hours a day, with no break. It likely took a toll on Kenobi’s body. Combine that with living on a desert planet that literally has two suns beating down on you, and you get a guy that didn’t exactly age like fine wine. More like gouda cheese, I reckon.
It is just a theory, but I hope this clears all the confusion about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s age throughout the history of his appearances in Star Wars movies and TV shows.
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