The Obi-Wan Kenobi renaissance is about to begin. In just three months, Disney+ will release the start of its limited original Obi-Wan Kenobi series — but not before Del Rey Books launches its re-release of John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi novel in April. There are also two new Star Wars books featuring the character releasing this summer — Brotherhood by Mike Chen and Padawan.
The Amazon listing for the book Star Wars: Padawan now includes its official cover, which features a young Obi-Wan Kenobi holding his lightsaber and sporting that iconic padawan braid.
We finally have our first look at the cover of 'Padawan' by @kierstenwhite! pic.twitter.com/vQHpyTZ6F8
— All Things Kenobi (@allthingskenobi) February 25, 2022
The book, written by Kiersten White –who contributed the short story “Eyes of the Empire” in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back — takes place before The Phantom Menace, when Obi-Wan is still a Padawan training with Qui-Gon Jinn.
Part of the publisher’s summary reads as follows:
"“Obi-Wan Kenobi has not been apprenticed long to Qui-Gon Jinn, and he is chafing at Qui-Gon’s training style: all meditation, no action. Obi-Wan yearns to prove himself on a mission, but when he and Qui-Gon are finally set to leave on an assignment, Qui-Gon is nowhere to be found…”"
At this point, we’ve only gotten a few canon stories featuring a younger Obi-Wan outside of TPM — mostly in Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. A novel featuring teenage Obi-Wan struggling to find his purpose in the galaxy may not be the story fans asked for, but it’s the one we’re getting.
Mistakes will be made! Rebellion will commence! Will there be romance? Who knows! We’ll likely get a mix of familiar and new characters, which will serve to make the galaxy feel bigger, but still the one we know and love.
Padawan is just one of many new Star Wars books releasing this year. Stay tuned for all our upcoming coverage of new and upcoming releases and more.
Star Wars: Padawan releases on July 26, 2022 wherever books are sold.