Do You Need to Watch ‘Boba Fett’ Before ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’?

One of the things that fans love about the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm is that the Star Wars universe has been expanded beyond the silver screen because we now see them on our televisions and our different devices. As such, we have two different series that were recently just released in the form of The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Book of Boba Fett was released late in 2021 and continued to the earlier part of 2022, while Obi-Wan Kenobi was released months later. So, does that mean you must watch Boba Fett before Obi-Wan Kenobi?

There is no need to watch The Book of Boba Fett to understand Obi-Wan Kenobi and vice versa. That’s because these shows almost have no connections to one another and take place during entirely different timelines. As such, you can watch either series without watching the other.

Even though most of the Star Wars shows on Disney+ take place during the era of The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi is different because it takes place in the middle of the Imperial era and years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. As such, they have timelines that have almost no connection to one another. And for you to understand that, I’ll talk more about what the timelines of these shows cover.

Stories of The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi

We all know that there is now a lot of different Star Wars content you can watch on Disney+, and most of the shows there were developed to expand the universe and give more storylines to the different characters in this large fictional world. Of course, The Mandalorian is the most popular Disney+ Star Wars product. But two other shows that were recently released are also quite popular as well. We are talking about The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Both Boba Fett and Kenobi are two of the most popular characters that have been around since the original trilogy of Star Wars. As such, it is only fitting that they get their series based on their storylines.

What Is The Book of Boba Fett About?

The storyline of The Book of Boba Fett sought to continue the story of the famous Mandalorian armor-clad bounty hunter that used to work under Jabba the Hutt. Boba Fett returned in season 2 of The Mandalorian when he was looking for his armor, which had Din Djarin after he obtained it from Cobb Vanth. As such, this was the first time we saw an adult version of Boba Fett without his armor.

However, while Fett worked with Djarin in the latter’s mission to rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon, he earned his series in the form of The Book of Boba Fett, which follows his life as the new gang leader of Mos Espa. The series also talks about Fett’s life before his cameo appearance in The Mandalorian, how he survived the Sarlacc pit, and how he spent time with the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine. And the finale of The Book of Boba Fett allowed us to see him working with Din Djarin and their other allies to keep Mos Espa away from the Pyke Syndicate.

As such, the timeline of The Book of Boba Fett is similar to that of The Mandalorian in that it takes place at least five years after the fall of the Empire. Meanwhile, the flashback scenes occur just after the Empire was defeated.

The Book of Boba Fett is also more like a spin-off series to The Mandalorian as it expands the stories of Din Djarin and Grogu, who went their separate ways back at the end of The Mandalorian season 2. However, The Book of Boba Fett is the series that bridges the events of seasons 2 and 3 of The Mandalorian.

What Is Obi-Wan Kenobi About?

Meanwhile, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series follows the story of the famous Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who went into exile on Tatooine after the fall of the Jedi Order so that he could watch Luke Skywalker’s growth from afar. But while we know what happened to Obi-Wan nearly 20 years after the fall of the Jedi Order, what we don’t know is what he went through in the middle of the events of Star Wars Episode III and Episode IV.

As such, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series talks about the character’s struggles with his emotions and connection with the Force as he had fallen far from his peak as a powerful Jedi Master to become an old man that regretted the things that he did in the past. This series also allowed us to see Kenobi meeting Darth Vader for the first time in ten years and confirming that this man was actually Anakin Skywalker, who he believed had died in their battle on Mustafar a decade ago.

That is why the series focuses more on Kenobi’s character development and reconnection with the Force. Of course, he had a lot of help in the form of the young Leia Organa, who was the one that made him believe that there were still a lot of things to live for.

In that regard, the timeline of Obi-Wan Kenobi is right smack in the middle of Episode III and Episode IV, as it bridged the huge time skip between the two movies. Of course, the series focuses heavily on Obi-Wan’s relationship with Anakin and how he concluded that his former Padawan metaphorically died back in their fated duel on Mustafar all those years ago.

There Is No Need to Watch The Book of Boba Fett Before Obi-Wan Kenobi

So, because both The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi have different stories that focus on different characters, they are not connected in almost any way. Of course, the different events of the Star Wars universe are connected in one way or another, but the connection between the two series, Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, is minimal at best.

Of course, let’s not forget that they take place on two different timelines. The Book of Boba Fett follows the same period as The Mandalorian. Meanwhile, the Kenobi series takes place nearly two decades before the events of The Book of Boba Fett. As such, they take place during two entirely different eras in the Star Wars timeline.

There’s also the fact that they both have different focus areas. The Book of Boba Fett focuses on the titular character and Din Djarin. On the other hand, Obi-Wan Kenobi focuses on the titular Jedi Master and the fallen Anakin Skywalker. All of these characters have minimal connections to one another.

In other words, there is no need to watch The Book of Boba Fett to understand the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi. But it doesn’t hurt to watch both of these shows because they are both enjoyable in their own right. Of course, there are some subtle connections that you may find between them. However, there’s no need to watch one or the other to understand.