Production on Obi-Wan Kenobi has officially begun, and the announcement of that fact provided the exact time period in which the series is set in the Star Wars universe. It states, "The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Kenobi faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader."
This brief paragraph reveals a lot about what's to come for the Jedi Master in his series, as fans now have an anchor point on the Star Wars timeline with which to pin Obi-Wan Kenobi. Here's everything that's occurring in the canon timeline during 9 BBY, the year Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place.
When Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres, the events in Solo: A Star Wars Story will have just taken place, as that film occurs in 10 BBY. The young smuggler just befriended Chewbacca, gambled with Lando Calrissian, had a whirlwind romance with secret Crimson Dawn operative Qi'ra and made the infamous Kessel Run in just 12 parsecs. Now, as the timeline enters into the Kenobi series, Chewie and Han are currently flying around space in the Millennium Falcon, swindling and smuggling to get by.
Luke Skywalker first appeared in A New Hope as a 19-year-old, so he is 10 in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Before the events of that film, Luke lived on Tatooine with his adoptive uncle and aunt, Owen and Beru Lars. Unbeknownst to young Skywalker, Obi-Wan was hiding out in the desert and watching over his future apprentice. Since Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse are confirmed to be reprising their roles as Owen and Beru respectively, it's likely that Obi-Wan Kenobi will feature this young Luke in some fashion. Protecting him from afar was a significant part of Obi-Wan's life after the fall of Anakin Skywalker, so this makes sense within the Star Wars timeline.
In 19 BBY, during Revenge of the Sith, the Great Jedi Purge began. As Anakin inched closer to the Dark Side, Palpatine broke him and enacted Order 66. Along with the Clones, Anakin slaughtered countless of his peers, but this was only the beginning of the Jedi Purge.
While many Jedi died in Order 66, others fled across the galaxy and remained in hiding. As years passed and the Empire rose, hunting surviving Jedi was a priority. Thus, Vader commanded a number of Inquisitors -- Force-sensitive Dark Side users loyal to the Empire -- to hunt Jedi. During Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Inquisitors will still be continuing the Jedi Purge. It's possible that an Inquisitor is specifically tracking Kenobi by request of Vader, who may want to know the whereabouts of his old friend or have him killed.
The Battle of Mustafar, whereafter Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, is essentially the catalyst for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Without Anakin's fall to the Dark Side, there wouldn't have been an Order 66, and Obi-Wan wouldn't be wandering the Tatooine deserts in hiding. Therefore, during Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader is ruling the galaxy alongside Emperor Palpatine in the age of the Galactic Republic. Being that the timeline lines up and that Hayden Christensen is confirmed to star in the series, it's likely Darth Vader will make an appearance in some way.
Much to the dismay of fans, Darth Maul likely won't appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maul and Kenobi duel in Star Wars Rebels, but Maul was only able to find Obi-Wan with Ezra Bridger's help, who doesn't appear until that series. This makes the chances of Maul's appearance slim, as Rebels doesn't take place until 5 BBY. That being said, there's a chance that Boba Fett might play some small role, as the bounty hunter began working for Jabba at some point prior to the events of A New Hope. While it's not entirely clear just when Boba started working for Jabba, Star Wars: Age of Rebellion - Jabba the Hutt indicates that the bounty hunter started working for the gangest at some point between, or slightly before, 10 BBY and 4ABY.
The Star Wars universe has many moving parts constantly happening in conjunction with each other. The events and characters listed here are only a fraction of what's taking place in the galaxy during the time of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Given the series' placement in 9 BBY and looking at what is known about Star Wars history at that time, fans can get a better picture of what the Jedi Master might encounter.
Directed by Deborah Chow, Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Joel Edgerton, Moses Ingram, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie. The series has yet to receive a premiere date.
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