James R | On 04, May 2022

“They are coming… Stay hidden.” That’s the sound of Obi-Wan Kenobi returning to our screens, and a new trailer gives us a look at the unknown chapter in the Jedi master’s tale – with him on the run and facing new enemies as well as a former apprentice.

The Disney+ series begins 10 years after Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat — the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Hayden Christensen will reprise his role as Vader, alongside Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, as well as The Queen Gambit’s Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

“I’ve never met Darth Vader,” Ewan McGregor recently said in an interview. “When we came to do the scene, when they shouted ‘action’, he had to come from behind me. I turned around, and fucking Darth Vader was coming at me. It was like I was six again.”

You can see a tease of that encounter in the new trailer, with the first two episodes of the series premiering on 27th May – followed by the remaining four episodes weekly on Wednesdays.

Here’s the new video:

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi: New images and details unveiled for Disney+ series

25th April 2022

It’s only a matter of weeks until Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives back on our screens, and new images and details are giving us a better idea of what to expect.

The Disney+ series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat — the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader. Joining them will be Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, as well as The Queen Gambit’s Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

McGregor has told Total Film about the surprise of going back into the Star Wars universe and acting for the first time against Darth Vader.

“I’ve never met Darth Vader,” he told the magazine. “I had rehearsed the scene with Vader, but not with the helmet on or anything like that. When we came to do the scene, when they shouted ‘action’, he had to come from behind me. I turned around, and fucking Darth Vader was coming at me. It was like I was six again.”

“It gave me a proper jolt of absolute fear,” he added. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not acting. That’s real. I’m really, truly frightened right now.’ And the same thing would happen with the Stormtroopers. I’d worked with Clone troopers before, but so many of them were CGI. I never worked with Stormtroopers, and, again, I was like seven years old again. Because when you’re actually faced with a Stormtrooper, with a blaster, it’s like: ‘Fucking hell.’”

Behind the camera, meanwhile, another exciting name has joined the project: Natalie Holt. The composer, who gave us the score for Marvel’s Loki series. She has collaborated with John Williams on the soundtrack, after he came back to Star Wars to write the theme for Obi-Wan.

“Obi-Wan is a legacy character that John hadn’t written a theme for because he died quite early on in A New Hope. It’s the only legacy character that he hadn’t done. So he spoke to Kathleen Kennedy and said, ‘I just want to write Benny a theme.’ So who can deny him that?” explained Holt in an interview with Vanity Fair.

She described the theme as “wistful, but there’s an element of hope”.

“The tentpoles are set out by John Williams,” she continued. “There are elements to the show that are new and fresh, and I’ve been able to have my own interpretation with elements — that I can’t reveal. So it’s been glorious, working with my hero and also bringing my own voice to the show.”

You can hear Holt’s music, and see McGregor’s scared face, when Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on 27th May, with the first two episodes arriving on Disney+ together, followed by episodes weekly on Wednesdays. Until then, here’s a trio of new images first published by Total Film:

 

First look: Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer reveals Ewan McGregor’s return and new villain

9th March 2022

It’s only a couple of months until Obi-Wan Kenobi makes his solo debut on Disney+, and a new trailer – plus new images – give us a first look at Ewan McGregor in action once again.

The show begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat — the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader. Joining them will be Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, as well as The Queen Gambit’s Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

The new trailer – accompanied ominously by Duel of the Fates – sets a dark mood for the series, while new images, published by Entertainment Weekly, give us a sober first look at McGregor back in his Jedi robes.

McGregor tells EW: “We find Obi-Wan at the beginning of our story rather broken, and faithless, and beaten, somewhat given up.”

Here’s the trailer:

Thanks to the images, we also get a closer look at the new planet of Daiyu, which writer Joby Harold says is “kind of edgy” and has “a Hong Kong feel to it” with “a graffiti-ridden nightlife”.

But perhaps most intriguing is our first look at new villain Reva, an Inquisitor played by Ingram who seeks out Jedi-in-hiding for the Empire.

Here are the images:

 

All photos: Lucasfilm Ltd

John Williams returns to Star Wars for Obi-Wan Kenobi

20th February 2022

John Williams is returning to a galaxy far, far away for the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Simply called “Obi-Wan Kenobi”, the series stars Ewan McGregor, reprising his role as the iconic Jedi Master. It begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat — the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader. Joining them will be Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, as well as Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

Directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed two episodes of The Mandalorian, the series will also see another familiar face behind the scenes: composer John Williams, who has penned the theme for the series, which Variety reports has now been recorded. Williams last composed for weekly TV back in 1985, for Amazing Stories, but will soon be composing the music for Steven Spielberg’s feature film The Fabermans.

Williams’ original Kenobi theme went on to become the signature tune for the Force in the original Star Wars trilogy, and he then returned for the prequels, which saw McGregor step into the role. Whether he’s built on either of those for Kenobi’s new theme, we’ll have to wait and see. The good news is that it won’t be much longer until we find out: the series will premiere on Disney+ on 25th May 2022.

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Disney+ series set for 25th May debut

10th February 2022

Obi-Wan Kenobi will officially return to our screens this May for his solo Disney+ series.

Simply called “Obi-Wan Kenobi”, the series stars Ewan McGregor, reprising his role as the iconic Jedi Master. It begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat — the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

The series also marks the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader. Joining them will be Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, as well as Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

Directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed two episodes of The Mandalorian, the series has been much-hyped for some time, but now fans now exactly when it will arrive: 45 years to the day since Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope was released. Obi-Wan Kenobi will premiere on Disney+ on 25th May 2022.

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Disney+ unveils first look and details of Star Wars series

12th November 2021

Disney+ has unveiled new details of its upcoming Star Wars series following Obi-Wan Kenobi, as part of its Disney+ Day celebrations.

The series will see McGregor once again reprise his role as the iconic Jedi master, opposite the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader.

The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Kenobi faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Joining them will be Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed two episodes of The Mandalorian.

Chow and McGregor were both on hand for a new behind-the-scenes video teasing the series. Accompanied by concept art – including an aged, stern-looking Kenobi – and behind-the-scenes footage, they confirmed that Christensen would be playing as Vader, rather than Anakin.

“We are bringing back Hayden Christensen to reprise the role of Darth Vader,” Chow explained. “We couldn’t tell the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi without addressing Anakin or Vader.”

Chow also teased that this would be a “dark time” for Kenobi. “Being a Jedi, it’s not safe. There’s Jedi hunters out there.”

The video is available to watch on Disney+ here.

 

Obi-Wan Kenobi series confirms cast

29th March 2020

Disney has officially confirmed the cast for its new Obi-Wan Kenobi series, with Ewan McGregor joined by stars such as Rupert Friend, Joel Edgerton and Kumail Nanjiani.

The series will see McGregor once again reprise his role as the iconic Jedi master, opposite the return of Hayden Christensen in the role of Darth Vader.

The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, where Kenobi faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Joining them will be Joel Edgerton, reprising his role from the prequels as Owen Laws, and Bonnie Piesse, reprising her role as Aunt Beru, Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed two episodes of The Mandalorian. It is executive-produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Deborah Chow, Ewan McGregor and writer Joby Harold. The casting director is Carmen Cuba.

Filming will begin in April.

 

 

Indira Varma joins Obi-Wan Disney+ series

2nd March 2021

Game of Thrones’ Indira Varma has reportedly joined the cast for the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

The series, officially titled Obi-Wan Kenobi, will see Ewan McGregor reprise his iconic role of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney’s streaming service. It will be set 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where he faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Hayden Christensen has also been confirmed as returning to the show to reprise his role of Anakin. Now, they’re getting some company, with Games of Thrones veteran Indira Varma joining the show. Varma, who has also appeared in For Life, Exodus: Gods and Kings and Patrick Melrose, is perhaps most recognised for his role as Ellaria Sand in HBO’s fantasy epic. She’s no stranger to streaming, though, having appeared in Amazon Studios’ Official Secrets and Carnival Row, as well as the Disney+ film The One and Only Ivan.

Varma’s character details are under wraps, but what we do know is that the series will be directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed memorable episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1. It will also use the same production tech as the Star Wars spin-off, called StageCraft, which projects details SFX on to screens behind the actors.

 

Hayden Christensen will return for Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series

11th December 2020

Hayden Christensen will co-star in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Disney+ series, Lucasfilm has confirmed.

The special event series was announced last year, with Ewan McGregor reprisingly his iconic role of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney’s streaming service. Officially titled Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where he faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

The series is directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed memorable episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1. While the last we heard of the show was that it was temporarily on hold, there’s now one big sign of momentum building on the show: Hayden Christensen will also return to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker.

“It was such an incredible journey playing Anakin Skywalker,” said Christensen after the news was announced at Disney’s Investor Day last night. “Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren’t on the greatest of terms when we last saw them. It will be interesting to see what an amazing director like Deborah Chow has in store for us all. I’m excited to work with Ewan again. It feels good to be back.”

“This will be the rematch of the century,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said.

 

Obi-Wan Disney+ series on hold

24th January 2020

Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series has been put on hold as the scripts are reworked.

The show was announced last year, following long-running speculation about the character’s potential return to the Star Wars universe. Ewan McGregor will be reprising his role as Obi-Wan for the show, which takes place eight years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

Hossein Amini (The Alienist, Drive) was tapped to write the series, with Chow, Amini, and McGregor set to serve as Executive Producers alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Tracey Seaward (The Queen) and John Swartz (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Jason McGatlin, Lucasfilm’s Executive Vice President Production, is also on board as co-producer.

Now, however, the series is on hold as sources tell THR and Collider that the script and the story have become an issue, and that the whole thing is being retooled. One source tells THR that the planned story covered similar territory to The Mandalorian, with the Jedi master becoming a protective guardian for a younger ward, which may have been a consideration in the decision to pause pre-preduction. THR reports that Lucasfilm is hunting for a new writer, with the project reportedly being reconfigured from six to four episodes.

McGregor told IGN that he did not expect the series’ eventual release date to be delayed, but that filming would move from this summer to the start of 2021.

“It’s just slid to next year, that’s all. The scripts were really good,” he said. “Now that Episode IX came out and everyone at Lucasfilm has got more time to spend on the writing, they felt they wanted more time to write the episodes.”

Director Deborah Chow (who helmed The Mandalorian) remains attached to the project, alongside McGregor.

 

Deborah Chow to direct Obi-Wan Disney+ series

5th October 2019

Fresh off The Mandalorian, Deborah Chow has been tapped to direct the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+.

Ewan McGregor will be reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi for the series, which takes place eight years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The show was announced earlier this year, following long-running speculation about the Trainspotting star’s potential return to the Star Wars universe.

Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said: “We really wanted to select a director who is able to explore both the quiet determination and rich mystique of Obi-Wan in a way that folds seamlessly into the Star Wars saga. Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters in The Mandalorian, I’m absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story.”

The series will be written by Hossein Amini (The Alienist, Drive). Chow, Amini, and McGregor will serve as Executive Producers alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Tracey Seaward (The Queen) and John Swartz (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Jason McGatlin, Lucasfilm’s Executive Vice President Production, will serve as co-producer.

Another reunion may also take place in front of the camera, with rumours currently spreading through the Internet (along with a huge pile of salt) that Joel Edgerton could return to reprise the roe of Owen Laws, Luke Skywalker’s uncle who, like Obi-Wan, spent his older years on Tatooine.

“Caught up with Joel Edgerton today (check out THE KING! I really enjoyed),” Josh Horowtiz tweeted on Tuesday. “I have almost no doubt based on his coy evasiveness that he will be in the Obi Wan Disney+ series. I’ve seen many an actor playfully evade. I’m placing a big bet that Owen will be back.”

 

Ewan McGregor to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Disney+ series

24th August 2019

Ewan McGregor will return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a new Disney+ series.

Days after the rumour first surfaced, Disney has made it official: Ewan McGregor definitely reprise his role as the iconic character, which he played across the three Lucas Star Wars prequels.

More details than that are not yet being announced, but the series joins a number of other Star Wars projects in the pipeline for the Disney subscription service, including Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, which was born out of the idea of a Boba Fett film, and the Rogue One prequel series following Cassian Andor.

The announcement was made at the D23 Expo last night, when a whole wave of trailers and new titles were confirmed by the House of Mouse. For more on that, click here. The news was greeted by a standing ovation from the excited audience.

 

Ewan McGregor in talks for Disney+ Kenobi series

17th August 2019

Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi may soon be back on our screens in his very own TV series.

The Trainspotting star, who first picked up his lightsaber 20 years ago, played the younger version of the Jedi master in all three of George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. While the Star Wars universe is off exploring new corners and characters, with two fresh trilogies in the pipeline, there’s been speculation for some time about McGregor’s possible reprisal of the role in a Star Wars Story prequel along the lines of Solo.

Now, that possibility has grown into a series instead, fitting in with Lucasfilm owner Disney’s new strategy for its upcoming subscription streaming service, Disney+. Deadline has confirmed that the 48-year-old Scot is in talks with the House of Mouse over a Disney+ project. There is no word on what the series might cover or when it might take place, but it would fit in neatly alongside Disney+’s other Star Wars plans, including Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, which was born out of the idea of a Boba Fett film, and the Rogue One prequel series following Cassian Andor.

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