In a move that should make everyone happy, Disney has confirmed an Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series starring Ewan McGregor. Set to air on Disney+, the series will begin filming next year. Lucasfilm head honcho Kathleen Kennedy announced at the D23 Expo that the scripts for the series have already been written and McGregor himself came on stage to joyfully announce his return to the Star Wars franchise.
Disney showcased an in-depth graphic (below) that revealed the series will take place a few years after Revenge of the Sith, meaning this will be a show about Obi-Wan out in the wilderness of the galaxy after delivering Luke and Leia to safety and seeing his greatest apprentice turn to the dark side. It must be heavy times for Obi-Wan.
This is great news all around, though not at all surprising. There were many, many* problems with the prequel films but McGregor was certainly not one of them. He consistently delivered charismatic, fun, likable performances in a series of films that felt flat and cold. McGregor was probably the only performer in those films who gave us the sort of tone we all expected, everyone else seemed so rigid and uncomfortable. McGregor made it all look easy. It was a damn shame that the movies he was in happened to be generally awful.
Allowing him to have an entire series is a brilliant move from Disney and Lucasfilm. Obi-Wan has always been one of the best characters from Star Wars and there is so much story left to tell. His life between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope was likely full of adventure and now we will be able to see at least some of that. It’s also exciting because now we will see McGregor perform free of the shortcomings of the prequel films. And as Disney is continually proving, they will be pouring as much money and talent into this thing as they can. Fans should rejoice because this is the best time for an Obi-Wan series to be made. Disney has a lot to prove and they aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes to prove it.
So what do you picture when you think of an Obi-Wan television show? I guess I picture a series similar to The Incredible Hulk with Obi-Wan wandering from outpost to outpost in every episode, a loner out for redemption. At the same time, I’d love something with a deeper mythology, something that shows us the frightening rise of the Empire. That’s what’s great about this show: they have so many choices. And they have a wonderful actor leading it.
*many, many, many, many