Next Star Wars spinoff blockbuster will be about Obi-Wan Kenobi: reports
FRESH from the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story in Cannes, new details have emerged about the next spinoff ... and it looks like it will be about Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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THE next blockbuster Star Wars spin-off will reportedly centre on Obi-Wan Kenobi.
TMZ says it has obtained a newly-released production announcement from Disney, stating that the film will be titled Obi-Wan: A Star Wars Story.
British director Stephen Daldry, of The Crown fame, is said to be directing, and production notes obtained by TMZ go into detail about the plot.
“Obi-Wan is on Tatooine being an elusive hermit and stuff, but secretly watches over an infant Luke Skywalker, whom he delivered to his uncle, Owen,” the notes reportedly state.
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“Tensions between the local farmers and a tribe of Sand People — headed by a ruthless war chief — eventually brings Obi outta hiding ... and into Jedi kick-ass mode,” the document explains, according to TMZ.
The same plot already exists in the book Kenobi by John Jackson Miller.
Having been published before 2014, that story is now considered legends and not canon – but some legends material has been returned to canon in the past.
Newer details of Obi-Wan’s life on Tatooine have since been revealed in the animated series Rebels and in a series of Marvel comics.
The film Obi-Wan — which is said to be using the code name “Joshua Tree” — is expected to shoot in London, where The Last Jedi was also shot.
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Ewan McGregor, who has played the character previously, is on record saying he would be “happy” to reprise the role but there has been no announcement about casting.
Meantime, Star Wars screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan says the director upheaval during the making of Solo: A Star Wars Story was principally over the tone of the Han Solo spin-off.
Directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord were fired mid-production and replaced with Ron Howard.
Though the pace and improvisational manner of Lord and Miller’s direction was part of the clash, the main issue was, simply, the comedic tenor of the movie.
Lord and Miller, the filmmaking duo of irreverent, highly meta comedies like 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie, wanted to push Solo into Guardians of the Galaxy territory.
Kasdan, the revered writer of The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, did not.
In an interview, Kasdan says you can have fun in a Star Wars movie, but you can’t “make fun of” a Star Wars movie.
Originally published as Next Star Wars spinoff blockbuster will be about Obi-Wan Kenobi: reports
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