Ewan McGregor Confirms Lucasfilm's OBI-WAN KENOBI Project Was Originally Going to Be a Film

Remember all those years ago when rumors started spreading across the internet about an Obi-Wan Kenobi film being developed by Lucasfilm? Well, it turns out those rumors were true. They were going to tell an Obi-Wan story over the course of a single film before they shifted the concept into a 6-episode series for Disney+.

During an interview with ComingSoon, Ewan McGregor confirmed all this, saying:

“It wasn’t always going to be a series, not initially. When we first started talking about, that wasn’t really in the cards but everything’s changed so much, so quickly. It’s really exciting that it is now. I’m really into the idea to be able to tell the story over several hours instead of just one hit. I think it’s going to be quite cool.”

A couple of years ago, director Stephen Daldry was said to be lined up to helm the film. But that ultimately fell apart after Solo: A Star Wars Story didn’t live up to the expectations of Disney. To be honest with you, though, I love the idea of a series a lot more! I’d much rather see this Obi-Wan story told over the course of six hours than a two-hour movie!

The new series is set eight years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, where we last saw Obi-Wan delivering Luke Skywalker to his aunt and uncle on the planet of Tatooine. When previously talking about the project, McGregor said he has known about it for four years. He also said:

“The storyline sits between Episode III and Episode IV. The Jedi Order was falling apart. It will be interesting to take a character we know in a way and show him – Well, his arc will be quite interesting, I think, dealing with that the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of Episode III. It’s quite something to get over.”

The series is being written by Hossein Amini (The Alienist, Drive) and directed by Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian). Production on the series is planned to take place in the summer of 2020.