Everything we know about the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series
It’s been a long journey, but we are about to have more Obi-Wan content.
Hello there. Is that an Obi-Wan meme? Yes, but given the circumstances, it’s fitting. We finally have progress on the Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming to Disney+, and it’s been a long time coming.
Back in 2012, Lucasfilm — having been sold to Disney by George Lucas — announced they would be producing six movies from 2015 to 2020. Three of these movies would be known as “the sequels trilogy” and are the films that introduced iconic characters like Rey, Kylo Ren and BB8.
The other three movies would be labelled “Anthology Movies.” These movies were spinoffs for certain events and characters. Despite plans for three anthology films, only two were made: “Rogue One” and “Solo.”
After “Solo” underperformed both critically and in the box office, Lucasfilm scrapped plans for the third anthology film. Supposedly, this third anthology was meant to be either a Boba Fett film or an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie.
While an Obi-Wan movie was only speculated about, it’s been seven years since fans have been desperately asking for it. It was finally announced by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy at the 2019 D23 event that Ewan McGregor would be making fans proud by returning for an Obi-Wan television series. Here’s what we know about the long-awaited project.
Deborah Chow and Joby Harold to Helm the Project
After directing an episode of “The Mandalorian,” Chow now gets to develop her own “Star Wars” project. Joining her in the writing process is Joby Harold, who has most recently worked with Zack Snyder on the upcoming movie “Army of the Dead” and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.”
It’s also worth noting that Harold is replacing Hossein Amini. Amini was originally working to develop the show with Chow but was removed from the project in 2020. How much of Amini’s writing remains is unclear. Let’s hope this doesn’t set the show back too much and have another happy landing.
The show is set ten years after “Star Wars- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”
Of course, it’s important to know what part of Obi-Wan’s life we’ll be watching. We’ve seen him in the prequels,played by McGregor, the original trilogy, played by the late Alec Guinness, and in the hit animated show “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” voiced by James Arnold Taylor. However, this time in Obi-Wan’s life has been relatively unexplored.
At this point, Obi-Wan is hiding on Tatooine. Most of the Jedi have been murdered after the tragic events of Order 66. Obi-Wan is alone and is carefully watching over a young Luke Skywalker.
We’ve only seen this part of Obi-Wan’s life in the highly-praised episode of “Star Wars Rebels” titled “Twin Suns.” A deeper dive into how Obi-Wan deals with his past and his responsibility of watching Luke could be exciting, but given the cast, we can expect more to the plot than that.
Hayden Christensen will return as Darth Vader
You read that right. Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” will be returning as Darth Vader. The character name is interesting in and of itself. Typically, James Earl Jones voices Darth Vader, while a larger man wears the suit. Could this mean we will see Vader without the mask?
We’re not sure, but one thing is certain: Vader will meet Obi-Wan at some point in the show. Both Kennedy and Chow spoke on the matter.
“We will definitely see Obi-Wan and Darth Vader get into it again,” Chow said.
“This will be the rematch of the century,” Kennedy said.
Chills, right? While that’s awesome, there’s more.
Expect an absolutely star-studded cast
A large ensemble of talented actors is joining McGregor and Christensen. These actors include “Queen’s Gambit” actor Moses Ingram, comedian Kumail Nanjiani and O’Shea Jackson Jr., who most notably played Ice Cube in “Straight Outta Compton.”
No information on the characters these actors are playing has been revealed. We only know about McGregor and Christensen.
When will it come out?
We don’t know yet. “Star Wars” is a busy franchise.
Their next animated series “The Bad Batch” is premiering on May 4. At the end of the year, we will see the premiere of “The Book of Boba Fett,” starring Temuera Morrison returning after reviving the character in “The Mandalorian.”
“The Mandalorian” will return with season three in 2022. A spinoff on Diego Luna’s “Rogue One” character, Cassian Andor, is currently filming. With all of these series coming up, it seems Kenobi might have to wait until late 2022 at the earliest for a release. Either way, we’ll be waiting. The few details revealed about this show have me beyond excited. It has potential to have the high ground over all of Disney+. Let’s hope that happens.
