It is well documented that Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi started out as a potential movie trilogy before it was later developed into the show it became. This weekend, Ewan McGregor revealed that when the original movie idea was still in contention, the plot was focused on Kenobi and Luke Skywalker rather than Princess Leia as the series did. The change seemed to come while the movie was stuck in limbo after the poor box office performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story in cinemas, and the chance to tell a longer story on Disney+ came up. It is probably fair to say that everything worked out for the best.
Obi-Wan Kenobi brought Ewan McGregor back to screens as the Jedi for the first time in almost two decades. While the series did briefly feature a young Luke Skywalker, he was certainly not the central character that everyone expected before the series premiered. As McGregor explained, though, it was only a moment of inspiration that saw the focus switched to a young Leia instead. During FAN EXPO Boston, McGregor said:
"It was going to be a story about me and Luke. It was always going to be that, and that was one of the genius moments where everyone went, 'Wait a minute,' and then changed it. That's the beautiful thing about how passionate Disney, Lucasfilm, all of us are, who are involved with it is from the beginning is we try really hard not to let anything of the bad just to protect your experience of seeing it for the first time. I think it's really cool that Disney and Lucasfilm care so much for the fan experience. They really want you to have a 100% experience the first time you see it, and if you've read that, and that leaked, and this came out, it's just a bit of a shame isn't it? It's like looking at your Christmas presents before Christmas Day."
Obi-Wan Kenobi Could Get a Second Season
Although Obi-Wan Kenobi was planned as a limited series on Disney+, the fan response to the show has potentially gained McGregor another outing as the Jedi Master. While there is also the possibility of Hayden Christensen getting his own Darth Vader spin-off, Kathleen Kennedy has revealed that discussions about Kenobi’s future have been ongoing since the series aired, and another adventure would really rely on there being a story worth telling. She previously said:
"Mainly because everybody came together and had such an incredible time. Ewan had an incredible time. Hayden had an incredible time. So certainly from that point of view, everybody involved would love to see this not end. But we have to really spend our time asking the question: Why would we do it? If we were to decide to do anything more with the Obi-Wan character, we'd have to really answer the question why?"
For now, fans can relive Obi-Wan Kenobi’s return as the whole series is streaming now on Disney+ along with the rest of the Star Wars saga.