Prequel Trilogy
In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), set 32 years before A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi, now played by Ewan McGregor, is seen as a young Jedi Padawan, in which role he accompanies his master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) in negotiations with the Trade Federation, who are blockading the planet Naboo. Upon their arrival on the Federation's flagship, they are attacked by battle droids and are forced to retreat to the planet, where they meet a clumsy Gungan named Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), who assists the Jedi in reaching Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). In escaping the blockade, the ship is damaged and makes an unscheduled landing on Tatooine, where Qui-Gon meets Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a young slave who shows such tremendous potential in the Force that Qui-Gon believes him to be the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy, destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. The Jedi Council forbids Anakin's training, however, believing that the boy's future is clouded by the fear he exhibits.
During the Battle of Naboo, Qui-Gon is mortally wounded by the Sith Lord Darth Maul (Ray Park/Peter Serafinowicz). Having nearly fallen to his death, Obi-Wan uses the Force to seize his master's abandoned lightsaber, and defeats Maul. The dying Qui-Gon then exacts his promise to train Anakin.
For his heroics in defeating a Sith (being the first Jedi in 1,000 years to do so), Yoda bestows on Obi-Wan the rank of Jedi Knight, and reluctantly grants him the right to train Anakin.
In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), set 10 years after The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan has become an experienced Jedi, and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) his padawan. By this time, Anakin has grown powerful but arrogant, and believes that Obi-Wan is holding him back.
He and Anakin are required to protect Padmé, now a Senator, after an attempt on her life. Obi-Wan traces the attempt to the planet Kamino, and learns of a massive clone army that the planet's inhabitants are building for the Galactic Republic. He then meets with the bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), the template for the clones, and deduces that he is the one responsible for the attempts on Padmé. Obi-Wan attempts to apprehend Fett, who escapes to Geonosis with his adopted son Boba (Daniel Logan). Obi-Wan follows them by placing a homing beacon on Fett's ship, Slave I.
On Geonosis, Obi-Wan discovers the Confederacy of Independent Systems, known as the Separatists, a conspiracy of star systems bent on secession from the Republic. The renegades are led by former Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), who was once Qui-Gon's master. Obi-Wan is captured after sending a message to Anakin. While Obi-Wan is in captivity, Dooku reveals that the Galactic Senate is under the control of a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious.
When Anakin and Padmé arrive on Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, they are themselves captured, and all three are sentenced to death by the Geonosians. The executions are prevented by the arrival of Jedi and clone reinforcements, led by Jedi Masters Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda. Obi-Wan and Anakin confront Dooku in a duel, wherein Dooku strikes Anakin with Force lightning, then turns to Obi-Wan. The two duel and Dooku outmanoeuvres Obi-Wan, wounding him on both his left arm and leg. Dooku is about to deliver a killing blow when Anakin recovers from the lightning and blocks Dooku's attack. Dooku and Anakin fight a short duel, and Dooku cuts off Anakin's right lower arm (which is later replaced by a robotic prosthetic). Yoda arrives and fights Dooku as well, but the Sith Lord puts Anakin and Obi-Wan in mortal danger in order to create a distraction, and escapes.
In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), set three years after Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master on the High Jedi Council and a general in the Army of the Republic. Anakin, now a full-fledged Jedi Knight, remains his partner, and the two have become war heroes and best friends. They are sent on a mission to rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who has been kidnapped by Dooku and Separatist leader General Grievous (Matthew Wood). When they find the captive Palpatine, Count Dooku engages them both in a duel. Obi-Wan is rendered unconscious by Dooku, but Anakin defeats the Sith Lord by cutting off both his hands. At Palpatine's urging, Anakin kills the defenseless Count in cold blood, a violation of the Jedi Code. Palpatine then tries to convince Anakin to leave the unconscious Obi-Wan behind. Anakin refuses, insisting to Palpatine that "his fate will be the same as ours".
Soon after returning to Coruscant, Obi-Wan is called away to Utapau to confront General Grievous. Meanwhile, Anakin is angry at the Jedi Council for refusing him the rank of Master, and is also troubled by visions of Padmé, whom he married in the previous film, dying in childbirth. With Obi-Wan on the opposite end of the galaxy, Palpatine—who is in reality Darth Sidious—eventually corrupts Anakin to the dark side of the Force and takes him as his Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.
After finding the Separatist encampment, Obi-Wan engages Grievous in battle, eventually killing him with a blaster. At the same time, Palpatine issues Order 66, directing clone troopers to turn on their Jedi generals. Obi-Wan survives the attempt on his life and escapes, rendezvousing with Yoda and Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) of Alderaan aboard Organa's ship, the Tantive IV. Obi-Wan returns to Coruscant, where he and Yoda discover that every Jedi in the Jedi Temple has been murdered, even the children. Obi-Wan sends a beacon to all surviving Jedi, instructing them to scatter across the galaxy and remain in hiding. A heartbroken Obi-Wan then watches a security hologram revealing that the assassin, Darth Vader, is actually Anakin. Subsequently, Obi-Wan and Yoda split up to confront the two Sith Lords: Obi-Wan to fight Vader and Yoda to battle Palpatine. Obi-Wan wishes to fight Sidious to avoid having to kill his best friend, but Yoda insists that Obi-Wan is not strong enough to fight the new Emperor of the galaxy, and would have to accept that the Anakin he knows no longer exists, having been "consumed by Darth Vader."
Unaware of his former Padawan's location, Obi-Wan visits Padmé and explains to her what Vader has done. Padmé refuses to believe him, and will not reveal Vader's whereabouts, knowing that Obi-Wan will attempt to kill him. At this point, Obi-Wan realizes that Vader is the father of Padmé's child and tells her he is "so sorry." Padmé sets out to the Mustafar system to confront her husband herself, and Obi-Wan secretly stows away in her ship.
Arriving on Mustafar, Padmé confronts Vader and realizes with horror that Obi-Wan had been telling the truth. When Obi-Wan emerges from Padmé's ship, an enraged Vader immediately suspects that Padmé has betrayed him, and uses the dark side of the Force to choke her into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan and Vader then fight a furious lightsaber duel, which ends with Obi-Wan severing Vader's legs and left arm in midair. Vader then slides too close to a lava flow and catches fire, almost burning to death. Unable to bring himself to deliver a fatal blow, Obi-Wan retrieves his former apprentice's lightsaber and returns to the shuttle, leaving Vader to die. However, Vader clings to life long enough to be rescued by Palpatine, who rebuilds him as the black armor-clad cyborg first seen in the original trilogy.
Obi-Wan watches helplessly as Padmé dies after giving birth to twins. Luke is put on Tatooine with Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton), Anakin's stepbrother, and Obi-Wan agrees to look after him in secret; Luke's twin sister Leia, meanwhile, is adopted by Bail Organa. Yoda, unsuccessful in his confrontation with Palpatine, then tells Obi-Wan that he has more training for him: Qui-Gon's spirit will teach him how to retain his identity through the Force and commune with the living after death. The film ends as Obi-Wan gives the infant Luke to Lars and his wife Beru (Bonnie Piesse), and disappears into the distance.
Read more about this topic: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Appearances, Films