Star Wars: 8 Ways To Do The Perfect Obi-Wan Spin-Off

4. Communing With Qui-Gon

Star Wars Qui Gon Jinn.jpg
Lucasfilm

One of the biggest revelations to emerge from Revenge of the Sith was that it was Qui-Gon Jinn who pioneered the ability for Jedi to manifest their consciousness beyond death, a skill passed down to both Yoda and Obi-Wan, and later Anakin Skywalker as well. Episode III leaves us with Obi-Wan placing Luke at the Lars farm, but also with the knowledge of how to contact Qui-Gon. This was, of course, an immense undertaking that Kenobi's master had procured, but his success meant that his former padawan could live on even in death - a skill Kenobi probably learned while exiled in the Outer-Rim territories.

Liam Neeson has returned to the role even after Episode I, being one of the only actors of the prequel trilogy to reprise his character in the Clone Wars animated series. In it we saw much more about how Jinn adopted this skill and influenced events beyond his grave, and this willingness to pursue the role could suggest that the actor would be enthused about returning once again. Certainly, in the confines of an Obi-Wan spin-off, having Qui-Gon present as a guiding force makes perfect sense.

The period between Episodes III and IV is a time of immense transition - not just for the political climate of the galaxy, but for Obi-Wan himself as well. In his position on Tatooine he now finds himself away from the guiding tenants of the Jedi Order, and away from the Clone Wars that had dominated his life in the Republic's twilight. With this in mind Qui-Gon's presence as not just a moral compass but as a mentor is essential, and would further build upon a relationship we didn't see nearly enough of in The Phantom Menace.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.