Tag: Star Wars TV

It’s no secret that Obi-Wan Kenobi will be a limited series. Most of the advertising highlighted it as such, and head writer Deborah Chow has confirmed that this was their take ever since it was conceptualized. Yet, there’s still always a little glimmer of hope that we could see more and it seems that while Choh remains strong on how she initially perceived the project, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy is certainly open to the idea.

Mainly because everybody came together and had such an incredible time. Ewan had an incredible time. Hayden had an incredible time. So certainly from that point of view, everybody involved would love to see this not end. But we have to really spend our time asking the question: Why would we do it? If we were to decide to do anything more with the Obi-Wan character, we’d have to really answer the question why?“

Kathleen Kennedy

She’s not the only one surprised, as it seems Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, Ewan McGregor, has also warmed up to the idea of potentially doing more with the franchise. The experience working on the project may have certainly gotten his interest to return to the role in the future.

Yeah, I would like to make another one. I had such a great time working with Deb, and the actors that we had in this were so great to work with, and the crew are just… I can’t tell you. It was so wonderful to work on. I couldn’t wait to get to work every day, and on a long shoot like this, that’s something. Right to the end, I just loved the experience of it

Ewan McGregor

While there’s no necessity for him to continue an Obi-Wan Kenobi series after the initial limited run, there are other options they could take. We have a few Jedi refuges after the event of Order 66, who might stumble upon the former Jedi Master and seek his help. Tatooine also seems to be commonplace for these Star Wars series to visit, which has become a bit of a running gag that every live-action series end up on the desert planet at some point. If they have a spark for a new series to have McGregor return, we’ll have to see what Lucasfilm cooks up in the future.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Ewan McGregor last played Obi-Wan Kenobi back in Revenge of the Sith in 2005. After all this time, he is ready to return to a galaxy far far away, in the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. Of course, a lot has happened in the film industry, as technology has come quite far since the last time he stepped into a Star Wars project. In the press conference for the Disney+ series, he talks about what it used to be like compared to now.

Episode 2 […] was my first experience of shooting on digital cameras. And now, you know, it’s so rare to shoot on film, sadly really. But those cameras were like dinosaurs. They were cutting edge technology, but compared to what we shoot on now, they had huge umbilical cords comingout of the back of the cameras.

Ewan McGregor

That was not all, as these massive cameras turned out to have one massive flaw. The frequency they were humming throughout production overshadowed all the spoken dialogue, which led the production team to ADR all performances, as revealed by McGregor.

And that was the new setup and the umbilical’s led to this big tent in the corner of the stage that literally hummed. It was so noisy and in post-production they realized, at the end, that the noise they made was exactly in the frequency of the human voice. So, we had to ADR every single line of Episode 2. None of the original dialogue made it through because the cameras were so new and none of the bugs had been worked out.

Ewan McGregor

Deborah Chow goes on to highlight that “George [Lucas] was doing by using digital so early, is so much of that groundwork is how we got toe Stagecraft.” The technology she is referring to became a new landmark with its use through The Mandalorian and is now becoming a new standard for many other major film productions. So, the creator of Star Wars would become the pioneer of modern digital technology.

There was a lot of excitement when it was announced that not only Ewan McGregor but also Hayden Christensen were making their grand return to a galaxy far far away with the next Disney+ Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Deborah Chow is tackling a challenging project by not only bridging two iconic trilogies but also exploring the complex relationship of two of the franchise’s most iconic characters.

In the official press conference, head writer Deborah Chow talked about how having to bridge these two timelines of the Star Wars universe was “one of the biggest challenges” for the Disney+ series. She highlights the challenge of keeping the canon alive while still telling a unique story.

I would say that was definitely one of the biggest challenges with the series. We have these huge legacy, iconic characters and we’re in between two trilogies. So, a large part, we’re telling a second act of a story which is often challenging enough. So, I think you know, the biggest thing we’re looking at is respect canon and we also need it to have an original story and original vision for it. That was the biggest challenge, but at the same time, it was very exciting that we were bringing back two of these huge iconic characters and telling new stories with them.

Deborah Chow

The biggest challenge will also be how they have to adhere to Star Wars Rebels, which included the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi to face off one last time against Darth Maul. There was a piece that theorized he was originally going to be the series’ main antagonist before it focused on Darth Vader, which Chow swiftly denied, however.

We’ll see how the series potentially also connect elements from the prequels, like how the Clone Troopers became the Storm Troopers, as a way to give us more insight into how the Empire changed the galaxy through its regime. Of course, many also hope to see Palpatine make an appearance as well, to further showcase his influence over Vader before his son would set him free. Luckily, it’s not too long until we get to finally watch the Disney+ limited series as the first two episodes will stream on May 27th.

We’re only a week away from Deborah Chow‘s Obi-Wan Kenobi series releasing its first two episodes on Disney+. Of course, all eyes are on the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, but it’ll also see the addition of Eternals‘ Kumail Nanjiani to the Star Wars universe. In a surprising move, the actor has simply given away his mysterious’ character’s role in the Entertainment Weekly’s Star Wars podcast.

His name is Haja, and he’s this guy who works on the streets of Daiyu, which is this new Star Wars location that we haven’t seen before that’s absolutely gorgeous. And he’s the guy who’s worked really hard to stay out of the bigger conflicts at play. He just kind of wants to be his own guy. Survival for him is all that matters.

Kumail Nanjiani

It definitely sounds like a character that’ll get drawn into something he doesn’t want to be involved with once he runs into Obi-Wan, but kind of gets dragged along.

He’s this sort of con-man guy who cons people for money. That’s what’s important to him. And then he has a run-in with Obi-Wan and suddenly he sort of gets stuck in the bigger conflicts at play, which is the thing that he really tries to avoid. So he is this street-level con-man guy who then gets embroiled in stuff that’s way too big for him. And he has to make a choice.

Kumail Nanjiani

He did not give away how many episodes we can expect him, but it does sound like he’s going to get into a lot more trouble than he bargained for the moment he meets the former Jedi Master. Nanjiani playing a con man is also a fun direction for the actor, as his style of comedy may add to the guy trying to talk his way out of whatever troubles he’s about to get bombarded with.

Source: EW via Bleeding Cool

Those that haven’t experienced the animated Star Wars series might be a bit confused by the title. For those that haven’t had the pleasure, the Inquisitors from the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series have been around for a while now. They even appeared in the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order video game. This group of Jedi Hunters has a special lightsaber that is capable of whirling at high speeds to help them fly.

As it was a bit over-the-top, it made us wonder if the same will apply to the live-action arrival of the characters and it turns out Rupert Friend confirmed it. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he got a chance to sit down and share his excitement for fans to see the live-action debut of the Grand Inquisitor, where he confirmed that “he can fly with it” as well.

He can turn it into a whirling blade. He can fly with it. It’s pretty kick-ass.

Rupert Friend

In the interview, he also teases that he once was a Jedi, but doesn’t go into any details. So, we might get to explore what the Grand Inquisitor was before he fell to the Dark Side of the Force and became the driving force that he was to capture former members of the Jedi Council, who are on the run since the Empire took over, but Friend only said “all will be revealed in a couple of weeks.” in response to if we see his backstory.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

We’re only a little over a week away from the release of Disney+’s next Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’ll feature the return of Ewan McGregor to the role that he played in the original prequel trilogy. He’s also be joined by Hayden Christensen, who will once again take on the role of Darth Vader, as the once Jedi Master navigates an Empire-ruled galaxy. It looks like the events of the first film have led to him losing his faith and, as a result, also can no longer use the force. McGregor revealed this surprising fact during the official press conference for the Disney+ series.

At the end of the third episode, you know, the Jedi Order is all but destroyed. Those who aren’t killed have gone into hiding and can’t communicate with each other. For ten years, Obi-Wan has been in hiding, can’t communicate with any of his old comrades. He’s living a pretty solitary life, he can’t use the force. So, in a way, he’s lost his faith. It’s like someone that has stepped away from their religion.

Ewan McGregor

The fact he can’t his ability is quite an interesting direction, as it highlights that while he is still keeping a close eye on Luke Skywalker, he’s limited in how he can help him. We know that the Alec Guinness turn as the character was still briefly able to wield the powers, which means we’ll explore how he revives his faith throughout the story and faces off against his old protégé once again. With the Inquisitors on his tail, it won’t be easy for the old Jedi Master to keep his promise. Perhaps the Force is just waiting for the right moment to return when he faces his biggest threat.