author: Bart Swiatek
Star Wars: Obi-Wan TV Series on Hold; Change of Concept Required
The second live-action series set in the universe of Star Wars - focusing on the character of Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi - was most likely put on hold. The episode scripts created so far were too similar to The Mandalorian and the producers want to think deeply about the concept of this new production with Ewan McGregor.
The Hollywood Reporter reports (citing anonymous sources) that the live-action series about Obi-Wan Kenobi, set in the universe of Star Wars, which was supposed to hit the Disney+ platform, has been suspended. The production will be created, but at a later date, as its concept will have to be rethought. We will most likely also get fewer episodes (four instead of six).
The main reason for the change is... excessive similarity to the first Star Wars live-action series, The Mandalorian. The action of the emerging title was to take place between the Revenge of the Sith and New Hope, at a time when the galaxy is controlled by the Empire. Two episode scenarios created so far focused on Obi-Wan, who defended little Luke Skywalker from the dangers. Nothing has changed with regard to directing - Deborah Chow will be responsible for production.
The only thing that remains to be hoped for is that the delay will not contribute to the cancellation of the series, especially since fans are unlikely to count on more cinematic films exploiting the cult universe in the near future. It is worth recalling that initially Obi-Wan's adventures after the fall of the Republic were supposed to be a feature film, but eventually it was decided to create a TV series (most probably in connection with the abandonment of the film spin-offs after the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story). The main star thinks that the situation is nothing special - just a typical production turmoil.
"Instead of shooting this August, they just want to start shooting in January, that's all. Nothing more dramatic than that. It often happens in projects, they just wanted to push it to next year. It will have the same release date, I don’t think it will affect the release date. They're still shooting towards having the film [show] release when it was going to be originally." McGregor told IGN journalists.