Disney+ Reportedly Developing An Obi-Wan Kenobi Limited Star Wars Series
When the Star Wars resurgence occurred with The Force Awakens in 2015, the Disney machine went into overdrive announcing many other projects from the franchise. One of those projects, and quite possibly the most popular, was rumored to be a spin-off involving the Obi-Wan Kenobi character, played by Sir Alec Guinness in the original trilogy, and Ewan McGregor in the prequel trilogy. The appeal of that possibility grew even more given that, when asked, McGregor has always been positive about reprising his role in any subsequent iterations.
Since then, over the years, there have been many reports on and off about the fate of this Star Wars property. Many developments in the Star Wars universe also impacted the possibility of fans ever seeing an Obi-Wan spin-off. The biggest of which was the commercial and critical failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the first spin-off of an existing character, after which Disney decided to restructure their strategy when it came to creating more Star Wars content.
The latest on an Obi-Wan spin-off comes from Star Wars News Net, who reports that the original Star Wars character may feature in his own mini-series, possibly up to six episodes, to be developed exclusively for the Disney+ service.
Kenobi’s last cinematic appearance was in Revenge Of The Sith, as he embarked on his self-exile to the planet Tatooine to covertly watch over Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Many theories suggest that any new spin-off could focus on the years between Skywalker’s infancy to adulthood, during which time Kenobi could have embarked on many adventures of his own, without breaking established canon.
As mentioned earlier, reports of this nature have long been circling the internet. However, this latest news makes the most sense given the current landscape of Disney’s plans for their streaming service. On the Star Wars front, the new trilogy started by J. J. Abrams will come to a close in 2019, with only The Mandalorian currently in production for the streaming service. Seeing how Disney’s other plans for Star Wars content are only in development stages right now, such as the Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) series, the Rian Johnson-helmed trilogy, and the D. B. Weiss and David Benioff trilogy, an Obi-Wan miniseries could be just what the company, and fans of the franchise need.
Reception of The Last Jedi has been the most divided of any Star Wars property, with many industry insiders attributing that reaction as the reason for the failure of Solo. Giving audiences a mini-series featuring a fan-favorite character from the Star Wars universe may just be what Disney needs to do to win over the goodwill of the fans, while also creating an entry point for new audiences into the franchise as well.
