New trailer released for STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI

Lucasfilm have released a new trailer for their upcoming mini-series Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Set roughly halfway between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the six-part series sees Obi-Wan Kenobi reluctantly pulled away from his mission on Tatooine, safeguarding the young Luke Skywalker (to the ire of his aunt and uncle), to deal with a group of Imperial Inquisitors who are tracking down the last of the Jedi.

The series sees Ewan Mcgregor reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Hayden Christensen also returning as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars and Bonnie Piesse as Beru. Also starring in the series are Moses Ingram, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, Sung Kang, Kumail Nanjiani, O'Shea Jackson, Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie, Maya Eriskine and Rory Ross, among others.

The series debuts on Disney+ on 27 May with a double bill of its first two episodes.

STAR TREK and STAR WARS unveil trailers for their new shows

The Star Trek and Star Wars franchises have released trailers for their new shows on the same day.

First up is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. A spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds reunites Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Lt. Commander Spock (Ethan Peck) and Number One (Rebecca Romjin) on the Constitution-class USS Enterprise, the same ship that will one day be commanded by Jim Kirk. Also on the ship are Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush). New characters include Dr. M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Hemmer (Bruce Horak), La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia).

The show is set after Discovery's second season (which was set in 2257) and before Star Trek: The Original Series (which began in 2265). It will be based primarily around episodic adventures in contrast to the denser story arcs of Picard and Discovery. The ten-episode season begins on 5 May and has already been renewed for a second season.

Second up is Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Set ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith (and nine before the events of A New Hope), the trailer sees Kenobi keeping a watchful, if distant, eye on young Luke on the planet Tatooine. However, Imperial Inquisitors are causing problems out in the galaxy, and when their trail gets too close to Tatooine for comfort, Kenobi decides to deal with the threat. The six-episode mini-series launches on Disney+ on 25 May.

STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI to hit screens on 25 May

Disney have confirmed that Obi-Wan Kenobi, their six-part mini-series about the titular Jedi, will hit the Disney+ platform on 25 May.

Obi-Wan Kenobi sees Ewan McGregor reprise his role as Obi-Wan, whom he last played on-screen in Revenge of the Sith in 2003. The series is set a decade after Revenge of the Sith and nine years before the events of A New Hope, and sees Obi-Wan's semi-retirement on Tatooine interrupted by a new adventure.

In addition to McGregor, Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, most likely in flashbacks and dream sequences, whilst Bonnie Piesse and Joel Edgerton will reprise their roles as Beru and Owen Lars from Revenge of the Sith. It is likely that a new actor will also play a 10-year-old Luke Skywalker.

Additional roles will be played by Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals) and Indira Varma (Rome, Game of Thrones), among others.

25 May is also known as "Star Wars Day," this year marking the 45th anniversary of the release of the original Star Wars (subsequently retitled A New Hope).

STAR WARS: OBI-WAN announces main cast

The Disney+ mini-series Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi has confirmed its main cast and it's both intriguing and impressive.

Obviously, Ewan McGregor reprises his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars prequel trilogy (the late Sir Alec Guinness originated the role in the original Star Wars trilogy). Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005) also joins the party, presumably reprising the role of Anakin/Vader in flashbacks, if not putting on the big black suit himself.

Also reprising their roles from the prequel trilogy are Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse, who of course played Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and were given the care of the young Luke Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. The late Phil Brown and Shelagh Fraser played the two characters in Star Wars (1977).

Joining them are Indira Varma (Rome, Game of Thrones), O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Kumail Nanjiani (Eternals), Sung Kang (The Fast and the Furious), Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems), Simone Kessell (Terra Nova, Of Kings and Prophets), Rupert Friend (Homeland) and Moses Ingram (The Queen's Gambit).

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi starts shooting in April 2021 and will air on Disney+ in 2022.

Lucasfilm are also producing The Book of Boba Fett (shooting at the moment) for a late 2021 bow and Season 3 of The Mandalorian for an early 2022 debut, alongside the mini-series Andor. Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic are also in the planning-stages, whilst the next Star Wars feature film, Rogue Squadron, is currently in pre-production for a late 2023 debut.

Lucasfilm confirm a large number of new STAR WARS projects

Lucasfilm have confirmed they have a large number of new Star Wars projects currently in development. As with Disney's recent slew of announcements about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Star Wars news focuses primarily on television.

The exception to the TV news was the formal confirmation of the next Star Wars feature film. Rogue Squadron is scheduled for release on Christmas Day 2023 and will be helmed by Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins. Jenkins' father was a US fighter pilot who flew F4s for the US military, making the appointment appropriate. Jenkins' video and the logo both show a Rebellion-era T-65 X-wing, suggesting the film will be set around the time of the original trilogy or maybe shortly afterwards.

The only other movie news was confirmation that Taika Waititi would be helming a Star Wars movie. Nothing was revealed about the content other than it is "fresh" and unusual, hinting that Waititi will be bringing his signature comedic slant to the franchise. This isn't Waititi's first space rodeo, since the director previously helmed an episode of The Mandalorian in its first season.

The TV show news was divided between things we knew about and new announcements. Andor began shooting two weeks ago and sees Diego Luna return as Rebel spy and intelligence operative Cassian Andor, and will depict his adventures in the run-up to the events of Rogue One. Genevieve O'Reilly also returns as Mon Mothma. Obi-Wan Kenobi is due to start shooting shortly and will be set on Tatooine ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith and nine years before the events of A New Hope. The film sees Ewan McGregor return to the role of Obi-Wan. Curiously, it will also see Hayden Christensen reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, presumably in flashback sequences or maybe visions of some kind.

The Clone Wars is getting a sequel series in the form of The Bad Batch, focusing on the members of Clone Force 99, a group of discontented Clone Troopers, in the months and years following the fall of the Old Republic. Another animated series, Visions, will feature 10 anime-inspired short films from Japanese animation studios, whilst A Droid Story will focus on R2-D2 and C3-PO getting into scrapes with a new character.

The Mandalorian is getting two spin-off TV shows which will be set in the same timeframe. Ahsoka will pick up with Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano and follow her adventures, possibly using the World Between Worlds as a narrative device. Rangers of the New Republic sounds like it will be a more original idea focusing on the people helping build up and extent the New Republic's influence.

Lando is a spin-off show focusing on Lando Calrissian (natch), but it's unclear if this will be a show focusing on Billy Dee Williams's older version of the character or Donald Glover's younger version, or perhaps both (with the former framing flashbacks to the younger).

Most intriguing is The Acolyte, a show set during the High Republic era. This era is the focus of a new series of novels and comics set in a time period 400 years before the prequel movies, and it'll be intriguing to see what the TV series will add to the experience.

Lucasfilm also confirmed their first two non-Star Wars projects since the Disney acquisition have been fully greenlit. The fifth Indiana Jones movie will start shooting in the spring with James Mangold directing, whilst the Willow TV series will start shooting in March in Wales.

The Lucasfilm release schedule is as follows:

Film

• Rogue Squadron (25 December 2023)
• Untitled Taika Waititi film (2025)
• Indiana Jones 5 (tbc)

Television

• The Bad Batch (2021)
• Visions (10 episodes, 2021)
• Andor (12 episodes, early 2022)
• Obi-Wan Kenobi (6 episodes, 2022)
• The Acolyte (tbc)
• A Droid Story (tbc)
• Ahsoka (tbc)
• Lando (tbc)
• Rangers of the New Republic (tbc)
• Willow (tbc)

Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series on hold at Disney+

In surprising news, Lucasfilm have delayed production on its second Star Wars TV series. This series would see Ewan McGregor return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a series set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

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.