Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals some surprise lore about the main character's past

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3! Turn back now if you haven't seen the latest episode on Disney Plus! 

Obi-Wan Kenobi has unveiled a surprising detail about the Jedi Master's mysterious past. 

At one point, while Obi-Wan and Little Leia are on the run, the young princess asks the Jedi about her biological parents. Obi-Wan then begins to talk about his own family, explaining that Jedi are taken away when they're very young, so he doesn't have many memories of his childhood before the Order. What he does remember, though, are flashes of his parents… and a baby, his brother. 

Who is Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother?

Obi-Wan Kenobi

(Image credit: Lucasfilm)

That detail is left unexplained. Since Obi-Wan left his family when he was so young, he has no real memory of any of them, so he'd be unlikely to recognize his brother even if they were to meet again. 

There was once an idea for Owen Lars to be Obi-Wan's brother, which was dropped from the Return of the Jedi script, though remains in the novelization. Uncle Owen is instead revealed to be Anakin Skywalker's step-brother in Attack of the Clones, and he has no relation to Obi-Wan at all. It's unlikely that Owen will end up being Obi-Wan's brother, then, unless another retcon is on the cards. 

There's also little chance that Obi-Wan's brother is another Jedi. If he was Force sensitive, he would undoubtedly have ended up at the Jedi Temple too, and he and Obi-Wan would surely have crossed paths again. 

Whether the other Kenobi will pop up in the show or not remains to be seen. The detail could just be a snippet of backstory to fill in some blanks about the Jedi Master, or it could be setting up a big reveal later. Obi-Wan's brother may even turn out to be a character we've already met – if there's one thing Star Wars is known for, it's surprise family reveals, after all...


We'll probably find out more about Obi-Wan's brother as the show continues – check out our Obi-Wan Kenobi release schedule to find out exactly when the next episode will hit Disney Plus

In the meantime, for much more on the series, check out our interviews with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen on their favorite memories filming the show and how their characters' relationship has changed, as well as Christensen on why he didn't speak to George Lucas before returning as Darth Vader and Moses Ingram on playing the galaxy's newest villain, Reva.

For everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away, there's our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.

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Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

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