It's a very exciting time to be a Star Wars fan. The galaxy far, far away as know it will come to an end with J.J. Abrams' The Rise of Skywalker, which will the the ninth and final entry in the Skywalker Saga. The future of the space opera's life in theaters is largely unknown, with both Rian Johnson and Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss developing possible trilogies. But there are some exciting projects coming on the small screen, courtesy of Disney+. While the app will launch with The Mandalorian, Ewan McGregor is also set to reprise his role in an Obi-Wan Kenobi series. But that project was originally going to be a movie.
Lucasfilm began breaking new ground after being bought by Disney, producing standalone movies like Rogue One. But following the disappointing performance of Ron Howard's Solo, the studio pumped the breaks on movies ending in A Star Wars Story. The untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series was originally going to be a movie, and now Ewan McGregor has opened up about its journey to the small screen. As he put it,
It wasn’t always going to be a series, not initially. When we first started talking about, that wasn’t really in the cards but everything’s changed so much, so quickly. It’s really exciting that it is now. I’m really into the idea to be able to tell the story over several hours instead of just one hit. I think it’s going to be quite cool.
The Jedi Master has a point. Opening up Ewan McGregor's return to Obi-Wan to a series allows for a fuller story to be told. The iconic character can be truly fleshed out, especially the parts in his timeline that are largely unknown to the generations of fans.
Ewan McGregor's comments to ComingSoon.net peel back the curtain regarding the long process that's taken Ewan McGregor to return to the Star Wars franchise. His last outing was 2005's Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith, which followed Anakin's descent into villainy and Darth Vader. Obi-Wan battled his apprentice one last time, before leaving to exile in Tatooine.
Revealed: Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi TV Show Details Revealed By Ewan McGregor
The untitled Obi-Wan series will be set eight years after that blockbuster, before the events of A New Hope. We'll be able to see how Obi-Wan spent his years of isolation on Tatooine, and go on some new adventures along the way. Ewan McGregor has aged appropriately with the character, which should a level of realism to the highly anticipated series. Kenobi will no doubt be filled with guilt, watching as the Empire takes hold of the galaxy and the rest of the Jedi are hunted down and killed. It's a concept that definitely could have worked as a movie, but now we'll get even more time with the character.
With The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan shows, it's clear that Dinsey+ will have some great content for Star Wars fans. As far as the franchise's future on the big screen after The Rise of Skywalker, that remains to be seen.
The Mandalorian will be available to stream starting November 12th, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will hit theaters on December 20th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
