Despite the maligned response that the Star Wars prequels received, Ewan McGregor’s take on Obi-Wan Kenobi is seemingly universally beloved by fans of the saga. So much so that a theatrical spin-off centered on Kenobi was planned back in 2017. But after the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story, Disney decided to pass on producing both the highly anticipated project.
However, fans weren't let down as McGregor officially announced that he would be reprising his iconic role at the D23 Expo back in August of last year. Since then, the overwhelming success of The Mandalorian has further built up the hype for the Jedi spin-off series.
While The Mandalorian may have launched a countless amount of Baby Yoda memes and have been an enormous success for the newly launched streaming service Disney+, the Star Wars franchise has been plagued by production woes and behind-the-scenes squabbles. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has recently achieved the honor of being the worst-reviewed film in the franchise’s decades-long history, which is impressive considering how widely disliked the prequels are.
Now, after weeks of rumors, Lucasfilm has delayed the Obi-Wan Kenobi series “indefinitely”, as they were dissatisfied with the current scripts. As a result, Kathleen Kennedy began to trend on Twitter, and legions of Star Wars fans expressed their frustrations over her handling of the franchise. Academy-Award nominated writer Hossein Amini was set to pen the scripts for the series, but he is now no longer attached to the project. In addition, filming will likely be pushed for another year as Lucasfilm scales down the planned episode count from six to four.
Ewan McGregor addressed the uproar over the delay for the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off series at a Birds of Prey fan event. He reassured fans by claiming that the recent changes for the show are nowhere near as “dramatic” as they seem. McGregor also claimed that the scripts are in “really good shape”. Deborah Chow, who also directed multiple episodes for The Mandalorian, is still attached to the project and is expected to direct.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was first portrayed by legendary English actor Alec Guinness, who was later nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards. Despite being highly critical of both 1977’s A New Hope and the franchise as a whole, Guinness is still the only actor to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for a performance in a Star Wars film. McGregor, who boasts a striking resemblance to Guinness, became famous for his breakout performance in Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting before being cast by George Lucas as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Ewan McGregor’s last portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi was 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Most of the actors that appeared in the Star Wars prequel trilogy suffered under George Lucas’ cringe-worthy dialogue and wooden direction. Despite delivering well-received performances in movies like 2003’s Shattered Glass, playing Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels permanently damaged Hayden Christensen’s career. McGregor’s career didn’t only remain intact after the Star Wars prequel trilogy, critics and fans consistently regarded McGregor as one of the few redeeming aspects of the widely despised trilogy. The widely polarized reception that both the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Kathleen Kennedy’s handling of the franchise has made fans look back more fondly on the prequel films.
The upcoming Kenobi series on Disney+ may be what the struggling Star Wars franchise desperately needs, and despite the delays, fans are more excited for the spin-off than ever. Many people have been waiting for fifteen years to see McGregor return as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the enormous hype that fans have for the upcoming spin-off will likely not go away. If Kenobi performs extraordinarily well on Disney+, and it may very well, it may indicate that the future of the Star Wars franchise belongs on the small screen.
While details are largely kept under wraps, the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off is expected to take place between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Fans have theorized that the spin-off would follow Obi-Wan protecting both Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, or that the Jedi’s nemesis Darth Maul would appear. Multiple media outlets have already reported that Lucasfilm is currently casting a child-version of Luke Skywalker, who presumably will have a major role in the spin-off. Joel Edgerton, who played the doomed Uncle Owen in the Star Wars prequels, has also teased that he may reprise his role in the Obi-Wan show.
With all that going for it, fans of both the original trilogy and prequels have massive anticipation for this show, despite the potential delays. What the long production history of the Obi-Wan project has proven, is that if Star Wars fans get behind a certain part of the franchise, their devotion will not waver.