Fans of Obi-Wan Kenobi have likely been focused on the long-rumored spinoff movie that is reportedly in pre-production. However, a new rumor claims we will be seeing the character long before that. While many have expected Ewan McGregor to return to play Obi-Wan if any spinoff movie is actually happening, this new rumor claims that McGregor is actually set to return to the role in Star Wars Episode IX.
While this news is pretty big if it turns out to be true, this should be taken with the purest grain of sodium chloride you have at your disposal. This is a rumor, from an unnamed source, reported by The Sun, and while that doesn't mean it isn't true, it also doesn't mean that it is by any means confirmed. However, the source claims that McGregor is set to "secretly" (not anymore, apparently) film for the "next" Star Wars movie, and that would be Star Wars Episode IX, not the Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff that has been rumored to be the next Star Wars movie to follow the current trilogy.
What's more, the rumor indicates that, somehow, Ewan McGregor filming for Star Wars Episode IX means that the Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff won't happen at all, though it doesn't explain why exactly that is.
While the idea of Ewan McGregor appearing in Star Wars Episode IX isn't entirely crazy, we did get a Yoda cameo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and some rumors have indicated the little green may be back in the next episode too, so this certainly qualifies as possible. The new film would need to explain why a Force Ghost of Obi-Wan would be appearing as the younger Ewan McGregor and not the older Alec Guinness, which had been what the character looked like when he actually died. We did get McGregor's voice in Star Wars: The Force Awakens though that was in combination with dialogue from Alec Gunness. Perhaps McGregor is actually only going in to record audio again?
Exactly what's going on with the Star Wars franchise at this point is far from clear. Several films have been announced by Lucasfilm, including a new trilogy from Rian Johnson, films created by the creators of the Game of Thrones series, and most recently a Boba Fett movie directed by James Mangold. However, none of these movies have release dates.
With an expectation that Lucasfilm plans to put out one Star Wars movie a year, we should get something in 2020, but we don't know what that will be at this point. The prevailing rumor has been an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie would take that spot, though no official announcement that such a film is happening has ever come.
Of course, there have also been rumors that Lucasfilm has put all Star Wars spinoff movies on hold following the lackluster performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story. While the studio has denied such a decision, the one thing that is clear is that, from the outside looking in, at least, the future of Star Wars is looking messy.
