“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope,” is obviously a quintessential line in the “Star Wars” canon and one that echoes out in so many ways in the new Lucasfilm limited series, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” For those troubled, disturbed even, by the post-Disney acquisition era force, er, direction of “Star Wars” these last few years— the disjointed Skywalker Saga sequels, the hit and miss efforts on Disney+, including the dreadfully dull “Book Of Boba Fett”— hope springs eternal for ‘Obi-Wan’ and by proxy, the future of “Star Wars.” But as this fascinating, occasionally thrilling, and yet sometimes deeply frustrating series quickly proves—at least in the two episodes available on Disney+ so far—perhaps resting all our hopes on one character is too big a burden for the aging Jedi Master.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Review: Perhaps It’s Too Big A Burden For The Jedi Master To Be Our Only Hope at The Playlist.

While the scream of frustration that welcomed “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” may have folks wary of new “Star Wars” movies, a lot has also broken right for the franchise’s episodic adaptations. “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” were well-received by audiences, and the return of Ewan McGregor in the new “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series is something of a television event.

Continue reading Your Joker Origin Story Could Be ‘The Obi-Wan’ Director Comparing The Series To ‘Joker’ & ‘Logan’ at The Playlist.

Later this month on Disney+, we’ll get our latest live-action “Star Wars” fix with Ewan McGregor reprising his Jedi knight character in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” who hasn’t appeared since 2005’s “Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith.” The show features prequel characters such as Hayden Christensen‘s Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton‘s Uncle Owen, and Bonnie Piesse‘s Aunt Beru.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Deborah Chow Teases More Film/Prequel Cameos Rather Than Ones From Other Shows at The Playlist.

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, there had been a rumor that “Star Wars” wasn’t done with Darth Maul. OK, not that long ago, but earlier this year The Hollywood Reporter reported a story that said an earlier version of the new “Star Wars” show “Obi-Wan Kenobi” included Darth Maul, the Sith Lord turned criminal syndicate leader.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Director Deborah Chow Denies Darth Maul Was Ever Part Of The ‘Star Wars’ Mini-Series at The Playlist.

The “Obi-Wan Kenobi” limited series on Disney+ is two months away, and it’s a big draw for many “Star Wars” fans hoping for the return of Ewan McGregor’s Kenobi and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. While some have been critical of Vader’s inclusion and the new face-off that is coming between former master and pupil—there are many lines in ‘A New Hope’ that indicated they hadn’t seen each other since ‘Revenge of The Sith’ and this new face-off undercuts that film—one element that seems to make it all work is the live-action introduction of the Inquisitors.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Director Deborah Chow Says Darth Vader “Isn’t Fully Formed Yet” In Her Series at The Playlist.

Just last week, right before the “Obi-Wan: Kenobi” trailer first hit, Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy explained the reasons why the original version of the series—penned by “Drive” screenwriter Hossein Amini—was scrapped. You’ll remember in early 2020, the original “Obi-Wan: Kenobi” series was put on hold, and ultimately, Lucasfilm scrapped all the scripts they had and started over with Joby Harold (“King Arthur: The legend of The Sword”)

“We’re looking, ultimately, to make a hopeful, uplifting story,” she told EW recently about the change of direction in the story.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Darth Maul Appearance Was Scrapped In The Previous Hossein Amini Version Of Series at The Playlist.

Ewan McGregor hasn’t starred in a “Star Wars” project since 2005’s “Revenge Of The Sith.” In that film, McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi suffered arguably his most significant defeat: the corruption of his Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen.

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2022

Now, Disney‘s take on the “Star Wars” universe looks to explore what happened to Kenobi and Vader between the events of “Sith” and “A New Hope.” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the latest new “Star Wars” show on Disney+, sees McGregor and Christensen return in a new tale set ten years after the events of “Sith.”  

In the show, Obi-Wan lives in exile on Tatooine and watches over an infant Luke Skywalker, while Vader rules the Empire alongside Emperor Palpatine.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Trailer: Ewan McGregor Returns To The ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy May 25 at The Playlist.

Today marked the finale of “The Book of Boba Fett,” and we now have official confirmation that “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is going to be the next big “Star Wars” event series. Scottish actor Ewan McGregor returns to reprise the role of the iconic Jedi with a story that takes place between years after “Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith” and many before “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

Disney+ and Lucasfilm have officially announced the show will begin airing on May 25, a fitting month given that May 4 is Star Wars Day, and the month should be filled with promotional materials for various “Star Wars”-related projects.

Continue reading Ewan McGregor’s ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Limited Series To Begin Streaming May 25 On Disney+ at The Playlist.

Earlier this year, “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” actor Liam Neeson told Collider that he would be open to the idea of reprising his role as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in the upcoming “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series. Resurrections aren’t out of the ordinary in this fantasy franchise, and force ghosts of fallen Jedi are clearly an already established device. “Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith” even teased the idea of force ghosts and communicating with the dead.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Liam Neeson Says He Won’t Appear As Qui-Gon Jinn; “I Haven’t Been Approached” at The Playlist.

One of the dozens of projects teased during last week’s star-studded Disney Investors Presentation was the highly-anticipated “Star Wars” series, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The show has been in development for a long time now and sees Ewan McGregor reprise his role as the title character. However, after months of wondering what this series is going to be about, it sounds like maybe we’re beginning to get a better idea.

Continue reading Ewan McGregor Says ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Will Be A “Rollicking Adventure” That Eventually Leaves Tattooine at The Playlist.

It has been more than 15 years since the release of Ewan McGregor’s final appearance in a “Star Wars” film, with ‘Revenge of the Sith.’ But the actor is set to come back to the galaxy far, far away sometime soon (maybe next year?) in the upcoming ‘Obi-Wan’ spinoff series on Disney+. And according to the actor, he’s pretty pumped about the opportunity to play the Jedi master one more time.

Continue reading Ewan McGregor Is “More Excited” About The ‘Obi-Wan’ Series Than He Was For The Final Two ‘Star Wars’ Prequels at The Playlist.

Though the production delays of major films such as “Mission: Impossible 7,” “The Matrix 4,” “Avatar 2,” and the various projects at Marvel Studios seem to be getting a lot of headlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TV is probably in a worse spot. With seasons of series already wrapped up for the year, pretty much all new installments of shows have been delayed due to the pandemic, leaving networks and streaming services without much to offer this fall.

Continue reading Jon Favreau Says ‘Mandalorian’ Season 2 Is Still On Track For October at The Playlist.

Over the past several years, the lack of diversity behind the camera at Lucasfilm has been brought up time and time again by fans. Throughout the history of the “Star Wars” franchise, it’s hard to miss that the feature films have all been directed by white men, with any hint at diversity being on the small screen in the recent ‘Mandalorian’ TV series. But according to Lucasfilm president, Kathleen Kennedy, that’s going to change.

Continue reading Kathleen Kennedy Says A Female Director Will “Absolutely” Make A ‘Star Wars’ Film In The Future at The Playlist.

There has been a major disturbance in the force and it’s possibly the worst kept secret of…. at least the last few days. The “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series at Disney+ has been put on hold at Lucasfilm, and this follows rumors that the whole show was canceled, but were denied by the company late last week. Many reporters have been working on this story for the last few days, trying to get proper sourcing, but the credit definitely goes to Collider for breaking the story.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Series Put On Hold At Lucasfilm As Scripts Need Reworking at The Playlist.

If there’s been an overriding criticism for the inaugural season of “The Mandalorian,” it’s that the series felt too episodic, with our central character (Pedro Pascal) hopping from planet to planet, getting into some kind of small-scale skirmish, and moving on to the next adventure. As the relatively short season nears its end, the disparate plot threads are beginning to coalesce, with those stand-alone episodes taking on a new dimension in the context of the latest installment (“Chapter 7: The Reckoning”), the beginning of a truly exciting two-part finale.

Continue reading ‘The Mandalorian’ Finally Begins To Bring Everything Together In The Penultimate Chapter [Episode 7 Review] at The Playlist.

While many “Star Wars” fans were probably not aware of filmmaker Deborah Chow before last week, they sure are now. After directing the third episode of “The Mandalorian,” the filmmaker has suddenly become a hero to the fandom, not only as the first female to direct live-action “Star Wars,” but also being the first director on ‘Mandalorian’ to prove that the epic feel of the franchise can translate well to streaming TV.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan’ Director Deborah Chow Explains Why A TV Series Is A Much Better Fit For The ‘Star Wars’ Character at The Playlist.

So far, while not everyone agrees with whether or not “The Mandalorian” is a great show (especially in this era of Peak TV), it has been a blast watching brand-new live-action “Star Wars” content delivered each and every week. The first episode is a bold introduction to the world and its broken-down, politically and morally rudderless landscape (following the events of ‘Return of the Jedi‘) and that distinct world’s lead character, a faceless bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) tasked with retrieving some very special cargo.

Continue reading ‘The Mandalorian’ Enters Epic Territory With The First Female ‘Star Wars’ Director [Episode 3 Review] at The Playlist.

While “Star Wars,” Lucasfilm and president Kathleen Kennedy have been espousing the desire to include female filmmakers into the mix, it hasn’t happened yet—on the big screen that is. But on the small screen, as Lucasfilm regroups from the defeat of “Solo: A Star Wars Story”—seemingly jettisoning all their plans for solo spin-off movies and reconfiguring all the ideas as series instead for Disney+—the company has already made in-roads.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’: Deborah Chow Will Direct; ‘Drive’ Writer To Pen Disney+ Series at The Playlist.