The force definitely wasn’t with this one.
After rumors were circulating that Lucasfilm’s TV series based on “Star Wars” character Obi-Wan Kenobi was in trouble, it’s now confirmed that, while those rumors were slightly true, Lucasfilm is determined to take the series in another direction, rather than abandon it all together.
The crew assembled for the series have been fired, the sets for production have been struck, and now there will be complete script rewrites, bringing the episode order from six to four.
Screenwriter Hossein Amini (best known for adapting “Drive” and creating “The Alienist” for TNT) is no longer on board for the project; all his ideas and concepts have been completely thrown out with Lucasfilm’s president Kathleen Kennedy starting from scratch.
One good takeaway from this is that Ewan McGregor, reprising his role as the Jedi master from the prequels, will remain on the project. What his role now entails is now the question at the heart of this story. The original plot of the series — which would have followed Obi-Wan lending a watchful eye over young Luke and Leia after the events of the prequel trilogy — sounded a bit too much like the studio’s other series over at Disney+ “The Mandalorian,” which was a critical success.
Although this is no doubt such a headache for those involved — and evidently the fans as well — it’s good that Lucasfilm cares enough to completely rebrand the series for having even the smallest similarities with other properties. For now let’s just rejoice that they’re holding on to the series and that McGregor is still on board.
By Michael Jacobo
Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd.
