The series started out as a movie, but after the failure of Solo it was retooled as a TV series. Hossein Amini was slated to write with Deborah Chow directing. The show was gearing up for pre-production, with set construction and location scouting expected to begin imminently. However, the crew have been put on indefinite hold after Lucasfilm decided to request complete rewrites.
According to Collider, two out of six scripts had been fully written, but Lucasfilm were not happy with them. Reportedly there were concerns that the main premise, which would have seen Obi-Wan watching over a young Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, may have been a bit over-familiar given The Mandalorian's recent storyline about a lone warrior watching over an infant whose life might be in danger. There may also have been concerns about treading on the toes of the CG series Star Wars: Rebels, which used Obi-Wan on Tatooine for several storylines in its last season.
Reportedly the scripts are now being refocused with a new writer (Amini is reportedly out), potentially with an idea about Obi-Wan having to leave Tatooine and go off-world on a solo mission. There is plenty of scope for this in the lore (as the idea that Obi-Wan just hung out in a hut on Tatooine for twenty years always felt a bit unlikely). What is clear is that Lucasfilm are very keen to give McGregor a solid outing as Obi-Wan and are hoping to reschedule production to begin in the summer. There is also some talk of the episode order being reduced to four.
The news follows reports that the Disney+ series focusing on Rogue One's Cassian Andor was also being reworked, with Rogue One co-writer Tony Gilroy (who is also credited with saving the film through reshoots) coming on board to lend writing support and direct several episodes.
The news adds to the general sense of chaos and a loss of direction at Lucasfilm. Rise of the Skywalker is approaching the end of its theatrical run having failed to match Rogue One at the box office and falling a billion dollars short of The Force Awakens' performance just four years ago. The next stage of the movie saga is also in doubt after David Benioff and D.B. Weiss quit.
Meanwhile, in good news shooting is already well underway on Season 2 of The Mandalorian, which is expected to air at the end of the year.
1 comment:
My pitch for Kenobi has always been that he's nabbed by someone, maybe a team of bounty hunters. So he has to escape and get back to Tatooine.
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