While Disney and LucasFilm have yet to officially confirm it, many little tidbits have been leaked about their plans to create a solo film focused on Obi Wan, to join the “Anthology” series of films that are designed to accompany the “new trilogy” in theaters over the next several years.
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ led the charge on this new design, to great critical and fan acclaim when it was released last year. Next up is the in-production Han Solo film, and the Obi Wan film is allegedly next in line. The folks over at Omega Underground claim that they’ve been given the working title of the film from a source: ‘Joshua Tree.’
Many movies get “working titles” in an attempt to keep their true production specifics under wraps. Many of them are tongue-in-cheek; for example, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ had the working title of ‘Space Bears,’ and the Han Solo film operated under the working title of ‘Red Cup’ – get it, Han Solo, Red Solo Cup? Eh, it’s cheeky, let it go.
But could there be deeper meaning behind ‘Joshua Tree?’ As the OU folks posit:
“Joshua Tree (aka desert yucca palm tree) could be hinting to Joshua Tree Nation Park in Southern California (along with other parks) as a possible shooting location for the new anthology film. The original Star Wars shot some Tatooine scenes at Death Valley National Park and surrounding locations. The location tease supports fan speculation that the Kenobi film will indeed take place on Tatooine.
DEATH VALLEY
Located primarily in the Southern California Desert with a small portion extending into Nevada, Death Valley National Park covers 3.4 million acres (14,000 km), making it the largest park in the lower 48 states. Within this acreage is an almost complete spectrum of the Earth’s geological eras that are well worth a visit beyond the shooting locations.
In January 1977, George Lucas took a second-unit team to Death Valley to film some leftover pick-up shots that weren’t filmed in Tunisia due to difficulties they had encountered there.”
As always, more information will be coming as we receive it!
