Obi-Wan Kenobi

Disney has sent the crew of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ home, from the Pinewood Studios set, as the studio is reportedly going back to the drawing board.  According to Collider, Lucasfilm LTD chief Kathleen Kennedy was unhappy with the two completed scripts, written by Hossein Amini, and has chosen to throw them out and start over with a different writer.  There is also a rumor that the show will be reconfigured from six episodes to just four.

Allegedly, the plot sounded too similar to that of ‘The Mandalorian’ with Obi-Wan watching over young Luke Skywalker (and possibly even Leia) the way that Mando watched over The Child.  But that’s just a RUMOR.

According to insiders, actors had already begun auditioning for roles opposite the show’s star, Ewan McGregor, who remains attached.  Now, it seems the plan is to reconvene and begin production in the summer, although the dismissed crew members were told the show was shut down “indefinitely.”  Director Deborah Chow, who helmed two episodes of ‘The Mandalorian’ and was overseeing ‘Obi-Wan’, is said to still be attached, along with McGregor.

 

RELATED: Ewan McGregor Is Finally Free To Share His Thoughts On His New Disney+ Obi-Wan Series

 

Rumors began circulating on social media last week that ‘Obi-Wan’ was in trouble.  It looks as though those reports were at least based on truth.

The Disney era of ‘Star Wars’ has seen unprecedented highs and lows.  While ‘Rogue One’ was a solid hit, it was plagued with problems behind the scenes with director Gareth Edwards relieved of control during reshoots/editing and being replaced with Tony Gilroy.  Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired half-way into filming ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ and replaced by Ron Howard who reportedly threw out nearly everything they had filmed.  ‘The Last Jedi’ and ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ were both huge financial successes, but reactions from fans have been decidedly mixed.

Supposedly, Kennedy didn’t want to go into production with just two scripts completed.  She is said to want the entire show planned out and rock solid before the first frame is shot.  While it may be annoying that the show has been delayed, it should be reassuring that Kennedy and the suits at Disney want to make sure that ‘Obi-Wan’ is fully formed and not just an expensive improv exercise.

The first-ever live-action ‘Star Wars’ series, ‘The Mandalorian,’ set the bar high, as fans old and new embraced Jon Favreau’s space-western romp.  The bar has been set so high, so it’s probably a good thing that Lucasfilm wants to make sure that upcoming shows measure up.

Check back for updates!  How do you feel about this break in production?