What’s next for Star Wars? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the Star Wars universe has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming Star Wars projects.
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in Oct. 2012 for $4 billion, it was clear the Mouse House had the intent to revamp the franchise. What no one could imagine at the time was how expansive the Star Wars universe would become… on the small screen.
With The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm looked to kickstart a new story within the beloved franchise by bringing back some of the core cast members of the original trilogy. While the latest trilogy hasn’t necessarily been the rest-received, Lucasfilm has had better luck on the small screen thanks to The Mandalorian. Now, the studio is looking to explore characters we’ve come to know before whether it be through the films or animated series. One of those projects is the long-rumored Obi-Wan, which brings back both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensenfrom the prequel films. As exciting as their returns to the franchise might be, the stars haven’t always had the best reaction to being a part of the Star Wars universe – and rightfully so.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, McGregor explains how the poor reception to 1999’s The Phantom Menace affected the cast and crew knowing there were still two more installments ahead. “It was hard because it was such a huge decision to do them, such a big event. It was quite difficult for all of us to deal with that, also knowing you’ve got a couple more to do.”
For the actor, getting to put Star Wars behind him was exactly what he needed. Then in 2017, he was invited to introduce a film as part of a marathon of every Star Wars film. It was this that essentially reignited his love of the character, so when he was later asked if he would ever return to the role, McGregor’s answer was much different than before. The actor was willing to return, but it wasn’t until Kathleen Kennedy approached him to be sure he truly meant yes that things began to fall into place.
At the time, the plan was to make Obi-Wan Kenobi a feature film which would’ve been directed by Stephen Daldry(Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close). McGregor was on board to not only star in and produce the project, but after the project morphed into a television series for Disney+, Daldry exited the project which then brought Deborah Chow on board. It was important that the series considered whether or not it wanted to bring back characters from the prequels, which eventually resulted in Chow sitting down with Christensen about reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker. Much like McGregor, Christensen hadn’t had the best experience with the prequels, but Chow assured the actor that the series would “would add a new dimension that could ultimately reframe the way fans look at their classic duel in the original movie.”
For Christensen, part of the appeal was getting to explore a new layer to his character. “I was originally hired to play a very specific portion of this person’s life. Most of my work was with Anakin. And now I get to come back and explore the character of Darth Vader.”
Fans will get to see the two characters battle it out once again when Obi-Wan premieres later this month on Disney+.
Source: Vanity Fair
The 2 Charleses talk about the big DD news, the insanity that was the Disney Investor’s Day presentation and review the latest episode of The Mandalorian! Have a listen below…
The first look at the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars show is now out. Ewan McGregor will reprise his character from the Star Wars prequels, with Hayden Christensen also returning as Anakin Skywalker.
The title was confirmed as being ‘OBI-WAN KENOBI’ as was expected.
According to a recent report from The New York Times there would be a “significant expansion of the Star Wars universe” and this show is a big part of that.
After the resounding success of The Mandalorian, Disney is ramping up the other live-action Star Wars shows already announced. Diego Luna is already in London getting ready for the unnamed Cassian Andor series, and now the yet-untitled Obi-Wan series is looking for a co-lead to star beside Ewan McGregor. In a recent report by The Illuminerdi, they stated that three actresses are going to enter the second round of the casting process. They are looking to cast a character that’s “A female BIPOC whose character details are being kept under wraps” mostly due to how a more specific description might be a bit too spoilery.
The three actresses are Thuso Mbedu (Shuga), Anula Navlekar (What the Folks), and the more high profile Naomi Scott who recently worked with Disney in the Aladdin live-action remake. Some might also recognize her as the Kimberly Hart in the 2017 Power Rangers film.
The same report affirms that there are three other roles currently being cast, who are supporting characters with ages ranging from the late 20s to early 40s. With the number of characters from other Star Wars properties that The Mandalorian has been bringing into the spotlight, it’s perhaps likely that Lucasfilm will continue to do the same with both the Cassian and Kenobi series. Yet, at the same time, it would be unlikely any of them become series regulars, as their status might ask for something more substantial down the line, keeping them as more of a sort of connecting tissues between different projects for the time being. So expect these three roles to be for new characters, similar to Greef Karga and Cara Dune in The Mandalorian.
For more details about this and other Star Wars projects, be sure to check out our feature What to Expect from the Star Wars Universe and When to Expect it.
There have been rumblings for quite some time, but now, and according to Corey and Noah over at the Kessel Run Transmissions, Hayden Christensen is indeed returning to the Star Wars universe to play Anakin Skywalker in the yet-untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Christensen has been very involved in Star Wars fan events in the past few years, so it comes as no surprise that the next step would be to bring him back to the iconic role that he first played almost 20 years ago. And even though this piece of news alone allows for a lot of speculation on what the plot of the series is concerned, it’s the confirmation that Clone Commander Cody (and his 212th) is also set to come back to live-action that seems to bring it all together.
Even since the series was officially confirmed back in August 2019 (and even before that) that fans have been wondering what could an Obi-Wan centered production, set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, as this one is, be about. The last time we saw the character in Episode III he was delivering baby Luke to his uncles on Tatooine, and at the beginning of Episode IV he was still there, having spent almost two full (earth) decades looking out for young Luke, making sure the wrong people didn’t get to him. So would a Kenobi series have to be set in Tatooine since it’s plausible Obi-Wan didn’t leave the planet during that extended period? Yes and no.
Having Anakin Skywalker in the series will mean that the show, while set between the previously mentioned theatrical releases, will likely feature several flashbacks to a time before Obi-Wan settled down in Tatooine, before Luke was born and before Anakin turned into Darth Vader. Events in the series’ present-day may serve as the catalyst to these flashbacks, mirroring past events and allowing us to go deeper into Obi-Wan’s memories. But for those events to trigger Kenobi’s memories they would have to be pretty meaningful. And this is where someone familiar to him, from his past, would come into play.
Anakin, now Darth Vader, would probably be choice number one. But even though Vader is also set to show up in the series (and there’s ‘probably a 50/50 chance of having Christensen in the role – either he will or he won’t), them coming together probably wouldn’t fit into the overarching storyline. When they both met in A New Hope, Vader said “When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master.” And it’s doubtful Anakin doesn’t see his transformation into Darth Vader as the moment he finally became more than Kenobi was.
Darth Maul would also be an interesting choice. Since we found out he didn’t die in Episode I, we’ve learned of his obsession with Kenobi, and how he sees as his destiny to finally overcome him in battle. But his appearance would undermine everything Star Wars Rebels achieved when addressing their conflict. And, as Vader, we have already seen the way he dies. This could remove most of the tension that should be integral to such confrontations.
But Commander Cody could be it. We last saw him turning against the Jedi in the final act of Episode III, when Cody was Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi’s subordinate. They lead the 212th Legion, a military battalion of the Grand Army of the Republic, during the Clone Wars, having developed a friendly relationship being the implementation of Order 66 (that commanded all clone troopers to kill their Jedi officers) what turned them into enemies. This means that there would be some personal feelings involved if these two would even come face to face in the series, making it all the more meaningful.
The plot for the series, as the guys at Kessel Run Transmissions confirmed, seems to focus on a hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi. If making Darth Vader lead such an endeavor would probably feel like overkill, having someone that fought alongside Kenobi, that earned his confidence and respect, that probably knows him better than most, makes the most sense. So being, we will probably witness a search for the former Jedi Knight, orchestrated by Vader but led by Commander Cody. And having to face such an old ally may lead Obi-Wan to relive some moments from The Clone Wars where both Anakin and Cody were beside him, and this is where he might end up finding the answers he needs to overcome the ordeal facing him in the present.
The Mandalorian kickstarted the Disney+ era. It was quite the success and Disney didn’t waste time to announce multiple projects in the Star Wars galaxy. Just recently, we got an update on casting for the unnamed Cassian Andor project. Hell, we are even getting a new Star Wars Holiday Special on the streaming platform. One major project many are excited for was the announced Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Ewan McGregor is confirmed to return to the role, as it takes place eight years after Revenge of the Sith. In January, it was reported that the production was set on hold long before the pandemic hit. Rumors pointed to issues with the scripts that were going to be reworked. As a result, production was delayed indefinitely.
Well, looks like that wait is finally over. The site Making Star Wars has uncovered that there are plans to start production as early as next month. It seems that they are planning on using the train yard location in California. This has been used for many exterior shots for The Mandalorian in the past. They could be reusing the Tatooine materials filmed during the first season of the Disney+ show.
Their source does confirm that this doesn’t mean they will instantly jump into filming. This story takes place long before our favorite Mandalorian took a step in Tatooine so it was a very different place then. So, they will need to adapt the existing material to fit that timeline before Deborah Chow starts the actual filming. As she was involved with the previous show’s production, she can reuse this experience for Obi-Wan. Making Star Wars also points out that it is unsure how much will be shot in Southern California. Originally, plans seemed to indicate that they wanted to film in the U.K. but with the current situation this may be hindered. It will be good to keep an eye out if anything happens for the show next month.
Sources: TechRadar, Collider, Making Star Wars via DisInsider
Yesterday’s news that 3 coming Star Wars films were all delayed by a year was unwelcome but understandable. Today, however, we get some good Star Wars news from our friends at the Illuminerdi who have learned when production is slated to begin on the much anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series! According to their report, cameras are currently set to roll in Los Angeles in March of next year.
As the article smartly points out, the Deborah Chow helmed series will almost certainly take advantage of the Volume technology that was used so successfully on The Mandalorian and that technology is located in L.A. Many rumors have swirled around the show, including some recent ones that claim Hayden Christensen would be returning to his role as the Chosen One alongside star Ewan McGregor. With a smaller episode count, a March 2021 start should provide enough time to get the show completed on on the streaming service in late 2021!
When Ewan McGregor went on stage on August 23 2019 at D23 the excitement was palpable. Everybody knew what was coming and his announcement that he would indeed get to play Obi-Wan Kenobi once again meant one of the best aspects of the Star Wars prequel trilogy was back.
In a recent interview with ACE Universe he shared that same enthusiasm while telling us that the technology the show’s production team will have at their disposal plays a big part in that. This technology while not brand new, hasn’t been around for a long time. The Mandalorian was the first production to use it in it’s first two seasons and they haven’t been shy about it.
If you got to watch The Mandalorian‘s first season on Disney+ you should really check out Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian, another Disney+ 8-episode mini-series that airs it’s final episode this Friday. It takes us behind the scenes with both the directors and the cast of the show, while also focusing on the production side of things, the score by Academy Award winner Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther), Star Wars’ legacy and a few more interesting topics.
But the episode that perhaps resonated with most people was episode 4 titled “Technology.” It’s perhaps the closest Star Wars has gotten us, in the past few years, to the feeling many had back in 1977 when it’s special-effects innovations changed Hollywood forever.
Episode 4 introduced us to what production called “The Volume.” It’s basically a soundstage surrounded by giant LED walls that are used to project photorealistic virtual environments, that Industrial Light & Magic developed alongside Epic Games. It turned out to be something that George Lucas toyed with 40 years ago but that proved to be a little too much for that era’s technological capabilities.
From an actor’s standpoint, and as Ewan says:
The prequels were all blue screen and green screen and it was hard to imagine, but nowadays I think things have moved on so much, and I think a lot of what you see is gonna be what we see on the set. I don’t know if you’ve seen the behind-the-scenes of The Mandalorian series, but they employ that incredible screen, it’s pretty amazing. It makes you feel like you’re in the place, it’s going to feel more real for us, as actors. And I think we’ll be using some of that technology on our show.
By removing green screens form the equation, actors are now reacting to something that isn’t inside their head but right in front of their faces. They are now able to correctly adapt their performances to it, and obviously, every actor in the same scene will now have the same reference points, allowing for a more coordinated response from everybody. It’s not a cheap option, but by eliminating expensive on-location shootings, and fast-tracking production in more ways than one, its benefits aren’t anything to sneeze at.
Another side of this is the fact that, by making it possible to shoot so many environments indoors, it allows for more secretive projects to remain as such. Star Wars and Marvel projects, that always like to leave audiences mostly unspoiled, can now avoid random set photos that disclose both minor and major plot points, and even characters’appearances, from appearing online without their approval.
Also, with the COVID-19 pandemic still impacting so many productions and studios looking into ways on how to better protect their crews and acting talent, this might just be a way of making sure sets are a bit more impervious to outside contact. You shouldn’t put it past Disney to decide to shoot as many projects as possible using this technology in the coming months.
For a more in-depth look into The Volume, check out this article by Epic Games
You can catch the entire ACE Universe interview right here, on their Youtube channel.
