It’s the battle cry of most Star Wars fans: where is the Obi-Wan Kenobi anthology film? Despite knowing (mostly) what he gets up to between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, fans are still clamoring for a film following Kenobi’s adventures between those installments. This is mostly because of Ewan McGregor’s fan-favorite turn as Kenobi in the prequels. While fans disagree on much when it comes to that controversial trilogy, most are in agreement that McGregor’s performance is one of the best parts of all three films. Though the subject of Kenobi’s exile on Tatooine has been touched on by Star Wars Rebels, there is still a lot of time left unexplored. Could a Kenobi film be the mysterious third anthology film?
According to McGregor in a recent interview with EW, fans might have to wait a while for their Kenobi fix. The actor went on record saying:
“There’s no official offer, and I haven’t met them about it or anything. But I’ve always said that I’d be happy to do it if they wanted to do it. It would be a good segue between the last episode of the prequels and the new episodes. I think they’ve got films to make until the 2020s, so I don’t think it’s going to happen soon if it happens at all.”
Bad news for those who were betting on the announcement coming this summer. If we take McGregor’s word at face value, without any conspiracy theories that he’s been asked to keep quiet to not spoil the surprise, then this means we won’t see a Kenobi film for quite some time, if one even happens. This is an interesting turn; many assumed a Kenobi film would be a natural choice for Lucasfilm to follow their young Han Solo movie. And it would be a smart choice: the fans and McGregor are both interested. It would be easy to throw a Kenobi film in development and call it a day.
However, the question we have to ask is is there a story for a Kenobi standalone film? Comics and Rebels have revealed that Kenobi’s time on Tatooine was rather quiet, with a few notable exceptions. Unless the film took place shortly after Revenge of the Sith, with Kenobi still reeling from multiple losses and perhaps a little more prone to running off on adventures, a Kenobi film would be mostly him sitting around on Tatooine looking after Luke. There’s always the chance the studio would branch out with a darker, character-driven piece a la Logan (though most likely without the R rating), but there isn’t necessarily a story to tell with Kenobi.
Still, at least McGregor is interested in returning to the role, which keeps the Kenobi option open for later films. They could also have Kenobi return as a supporting character should they choose to make an Ahsoka-centric film, or if they felt he would make a good addition to a specific Star Wars story. As for what the mysterious 2020 anthology film will actually be, fans will have to wait until summer to unravel the latest Lucasfilm mystery.
Next: Star Wars: Why Yoda Was Wrong & Luke Was Right
Source: EW
