Obi-Wan's age in ANH?

Watching the OT DVD's I find myself wondering how old Obi-Wan is supposed to be in ANH. Using some form of continuity as a guide.

Just my guesses are that he is mid 20's in EPI. Mid 30's in EPII. Making him barely 60 by ANH. He seems awfully decrepit (sp?) for a man of that age who is so strong with the force. AG didn't look ancient to my eyes, but I thought the character should be in his 70's or 80's.

Was it a mistake by Lucas to make him so young in Ep.I then? Maybe he gets banged around pretty good in the course of the clone wars. Not as bad as Vader, but enough to cause his health to decline over the years. That could shoehorn it into some believable context I suppose.

Thoughts?

Doc

 

The age makes perfect sense to me.

First off, part of it is facial hair. You will be shocked how much it ages a man to grow a beard. Just look what it did to Ewan McGregor in AOTC. There's only a few years between it and TPM, but Ewan definitely looks ten years older, doesn't he? The fact that Ben lets it grow wild doesn't really help, either.

Second, they live on a planet with two suns. Not only does Ben likely live a relatively rough life out in the waste lands, but the sun in general can do enormous damage to the skin. Just look at Owen and Beru. They can't be much older than 40 something, but they both show and wear and tear of a rough lifestyle. (Or, in general, these are people who simply may not age well. )

Third, with the emperor and Vader's Jedi purges, it's likely Ben wanted to keep a low profile, especially since he was so near Luke. He likely hasn't used the Force much in the past 18 years or so. Last thing you need it Darth Vader knocking at your door and finding out he has a son nearby as well.

Finally, it's done for the sake of the character. Ben is supposed to seem grandfatherly and wise. Making him look older, wiser, scruffier gives him the air of somebody who's very well experienced and authoritatively elderly, but who is also young enough to still lead the life he does.

 

Yes, I just hope that at the end of Ep III we don't see a perfectly healthy and robust Obi-Wan retreating to his hovel on Tatooine at the age of about 38-40. If so, maybe there can be other stories between Ep.3 and 4 to tell about Obi-Wan, explaining his relatively rapid decline.

Doc

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi in ANH is fifty seven years old.

 

If so, maybe there can be other stories between Ep.3 and 4 to tell about Obi-Wan, explaining his relatively rapid decline.

That's for the EU to cover and for you to complain about it's canonical merits

And I second the rapid-age facial hair, from personal experience--I've already begun to grow somewhat of a moustache.

 

"Obi-Wan Kenobi in ANH is fifty seven years old."

Yeah, that's about what I thought. The film just gives the impression that he is a much older man. I think GL made him too young in TPM. Unless severely injured in Ep.III, he should still be kicking a** at age 57, not barely able to swing a light saber. But such are the problems of trying to make all the pieces fit when you write and film the stories out of order.

Just my opinion mind you.

Thanks for the age clarification.

Doc

 

Anytime.

 

Let's assume he has been taking a beating between the two trilogies, though. I mean, why wouldn't he? He's one of the last surviving Jedi, living as a fugitive, and it's possible he's been on the run. It's also possible there were one or more attempts to kill him by Palpatine's agents. It seems that everyone assumes Obi-Wan is dead at the beginning of ANH.

 

Obi-wan was 57 in ANH, though at the time ANH was filmed, Lucas meant Kenobi to be 10-15 years older, but after the timeline changes made with TPM, it was made younger (ditto with Anakin).

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi in ANH is fifty seven years old.

Vader: "Your powers are weak, OLD MAN."

(Thirty-something) Han Solo: "Where did you dig up that OLD FOSSIL?"

No doubt, Lucas adjusted Obi-Wan's age when he sat down to write the prequels...

...which is why I prefer not to tack dates on events or calendar ages on any of the characters.

I think the films work better if you just think of Ewan McGregor as 'younger' Obi-Wan and Alec Guiness as 'old' Obi-Wan...

...and don't worry about how long they wear their clothes without washing them...

...or how long it takes to go from Hoth to Bespin...

...or why there is no need for pressurized suits in the stomach of a space slug.

 

I think its best to not try and put a definite timeline on everything (I don't like how Anakin actually says how long has passed between TPM and AOTC, it should be left open like ANH-ESB), Obi-Wan's age is never explicitly mentioned on screen so it can be left to the viewers discretion really to how old they want to believe he is.

 

Obi-Wan should be around 55, near 60. He may look older cuz he's been living in a hutt his own with scholding hot sun and not much food for eighteen years.

 

He was 57 in ANH, but I agree with whoever said that he seemed like he was in his 60's, 70's, or 80's

 

...He may look older cuz he's been living in a hutt...

Well, living inside a Hutt would prematurely age anyone...

 

two days older than dirt.

And leave Old Ben alone.........he's had what you call a rough life.

 

"...or why there is no need for pressurized suits in the stomach of a space slug."

...or why there seems to be a weird gravity in that same stomach that seems to be exactly the same as the 1G of artificial gravity the Falcon is providing on the inside.

Yeah, okay. I suppose we could all poke enough holes to make the whole continuum look like swiss cheese if we tried hard enough, huh?

It's just nice to get confirmation that others have noticed this too.

Doc

 

"And leave Old Ben alone.........he's had what you call a rough life."

Yeah. Plus he ain't gettin' no lovin all those years either!!! That might send me to an early grave too!!




Doc

 

Kenobi (Episode I): 25

Kenobi (Episode II): 35

Kenobi (Episode III): 38

Kenobi (Episode IV): 58

Guinness was 62 while filming Episode IV. So what's the problem?

 

Obi Wan is 76 years old. The PT can go to hell.

 

Hey "TheFoolWhoFollowsHim":

"The Problem" was that at 58 (or 57) and being so strong with the force, he should have logically been much more robust than he was made out to be in ANH. Especially now that we see how spry the Jedi were in their "Prime" in the prequels. He could barely move the saber in ANH!

My thought was that if GL had planned out the timeline better and made Obi-Wan, say 75 by the time ANH happened, it may have been more in line with AG's portrayal and lack of, shall we say, "skills" with the saber in ANH.

But I reiterate, it is not that big a deal to me. I'm not one of those to start "hatin'" just becuase of seeming incongruities between the films. I was really just trying to see if others had noticed this one.

In fact alot of the inconsistancies just make me grin. It is part of the charm of the films to me.

Doc

 

Obi-Wan is 57 in "A New Hope", not 58. "A New Hope" takes place 19 years after "Revenge of the Sith". This can be deduced because "The Phantom Menace" takes place 32 years before "A New Hope", and Obi-Wan was 25 in that. "Attack of the Clones" takes place 10 years after "The Phantom Menace", 22 years before "A New Hope", making Obi-Wan 35. "Revenge of the Sith" takes place 3 years after "Attack of the Clones", 19 years before "A New Hope", making Obi-Wan 38. He's 57 in "A New Hope".

 

>>but I agree with whoever said that he seemed like he was in his 60's, 70's, or 80's<<

He was supposed to be in his 70's (at least by the time of ROTJ; assuming he lived), Anakin by contrast was supposed to be in his 60's. Lucas basicly shaved 20 years off the original timeline.

 

Guinness was 62 while filming Episode IV. So what's the problem?

Precisely what I was going to say. In-universe explanations aside, that's just how some people age.

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Well, since the actual age of Kenobi/Guinness is NOT an issue, let's turn our attention to an "in-universe" explanation.

Kenobi was essentially out of commission for two decades. Obviously, he'd have been pretty rusty with a saber (although his saber duel on the Death Star isn't nearly as bad as people want to make it out to be- they were in a confined space, but even then there were a couple twirls and heavy blows- but that's beside the point). He's not going to be as spry as other older Jedi like Qui-Gon, who was in constant practice. The same can be said for Dooku, who was also tapping into the darkside.

This really isn't an issue. It can be explained both in and out of the universe. Whether or not obsessive fans will be satisfied with the explanations is another question. Obviously some people will never be satisfied with anything.

 

So if Obi-Wan is 57 in ANH...

...does that mean Harrison Ford actually became an "old fossil" about six years ago?

Actually, that would also mean George Lucas became an "old fossil" about four years ago.