Star Wars books to read before Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts on Disney+

With the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series on the horizon, you might be hungry for more Star Wars content about the character before you can watch the show. Many Star Wars books feature the iconic character, with even more stories on the way. But we wanted to provide a list of books that could help you build a foundation for everything you might learn about Obi-Wan and others in the 6-episode series.

Here are the stories you should dive into first.

Revenge of the Sith

The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover remains one of the most beloved Star Wars books among readers and fans of the movie. Unlike many of the novelizations of Star Wars movies, this book doesn’t use a word-for-word script or add a few deleted scenes to provide new content. It takes the film’s story and, while continuing to follow it faithfully, crafts a completely new work of art with brilliant writing and storytelling.

While you might already know the overarching story of Anakin Skywalker’s fall, this book will send your hype for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series skyrocketing even higher.

Master & Apprentice

Claudia Gray’s adult novel Master & Apprentice takes place before The Phantom Menace. It establishes the troubled relationship between Padawan Obi-Wan and his master Qui-Gon Jinn and how they come to work together as — you guessed it — master and apprentice.

It’s likely that Obi-Wan will spend at least part of the show trying to communicate with Qui-Gon, since Yoda revealed at the end of Revenge of the Sith that Obi-Wan needed to learn how to connect with his former master through the cosmic Force. The book itself is a fun, captivating read that’s worth picking up even if you don’t get to it before May 27.

Kenobi

John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi was one of the last Star Wars novels to be published before Lucasfilm Publishing rebranded all prior books and stories as “Legends.” But just because it’s technically not in the current Star Wars canon doesn’t mean it’s any less meaningful.

Kenobi takes place shortly after Revenge of the Sith, after Obi-Wan brings Luke to Tatooine and has to figure out how to hide in plain sight. Unable to resist helping innocent people in need, Kenobi risks everything to follow the principles of the Jedi — even if being one is enough to get him killed.

Deborah Chow and her creative team are very likely to take inspiration from this book when telling the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The show and the book won’t follow the exact same path, but being able to point out similar beats and themes from JJM’s story as you watch the new series could add a ton of value to the experience.

Brotherhood

Coming this May, Brotherhood by Mike Chen tells a story of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s shifting dynamic as the former becomes a Jedi Knight — and the latter joins the Jedi Council. Many prequel fans will potentially be pleased to know it’s also the story that explains what happened that one time on Cato Neimoidia that “didn’t count.” (Obi-Wan may have been right.)

The book releases May 10, so you’ll have just enough time to squeeze it in before the Obi-Wan series premiere. You can read a quick Brotherhood excerpt now if you’re curious about the story.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor with appearances by Hayden Christensen and Kumail Nanjiani and is directed by Deborah Chow, who previously directed an episode of The Mandalorian. The series is set to premiere May 27, 2022 exclusively on Disney+.

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