Today, Disney is releasing the new novel Star Wars: Padawan that focuses on Obi-Wan training as a padawan under his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. While the novel just hit shelves, fans have already captured some screenshots and leaks of plot points in the book. One plot point that is getting a lot of buzz is the possibility that Obi-Wan Kenobi might be bisexual or asexual.
The Star: Wars Padawan novel is written by New York Times Best-Selling author Kiersten White, who is best known for her Paranormalcy series. In the book, Obi-Wan grows impatient with his training under the reserved Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan is often stuck doing exercises and practicing on Coruscant while his fellow Padawans are off doing missions. When Obi-Wan finally gets assigned a mission that Qui-Gon Jinn is late to show up for, he heads out on the mission by himself. He lands on a planet full of unsupervised young teens with their own relationship to the Force. Obi-Wan joins them on his adventures, which will test his commitment to the Jedi order.
The plot point in question happens when one of the male teens flirts with Obi-Wan. He shrugs off the advance mentioning how he can’t form attachments, which is a well-known aspect of the Jedi code. However, these advances make Obi-Wan briefly contemplate his sexuality, wondering if he would kiss any of the teens on the planet. Or if he would kiss all of them. In the end, Obi-Wan comes to the conclusion that in the end, he wouldn’t be kissing any of them regardless. These brief pages have led to a lot of discussion in the fan community. Is Obi-Wan bisexual because he could see himself kissing any of the members of the group? Is he asexual because he doesn’t necessarily want to kiss anyone, but would rather be more like them? Overall, it’s an interesting look into how a Jedi in training might think about their attractions since it’s something they’re generally trained to repress.
This novel wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Obi-Wan Kenobi grapple with forming attachments with people. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we meet Satine Kryze, a former Duchess of Mandalore. It was revealed that Obi-Wan and Satine spent a year on Mandalore together when he was assigned on a mission to protect her from insurgents. Obi-Wan fell in love with Satine but left to continue working for the Jedi Order and Satine stayed to help the people of Mandalore. While Obi-Wan never consummates his relationship with Satine in any way, sticking to his Jedi code, it’s clear he struggles with his complicated feelings about her. Darth Maul takes advantage of Obi-Wan’s feelings for Satine, killing her in front of Obi-Wan, leading Satine to tell Obi-Wan she always loved him.
While Obi-Wan may have never broken the Jedi code and formed an attachment, it seems that it’s certainly possible the Jedi could be bisexual or even ace. If you want to read more on Obi-Wan’s Padawan days, you can pick up Star Wars: Padawan. You can also catch more of Obi-Wan’s adventures with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.
