It's finally official! After leaving fans in doubt for months, it seems that Disney/Lucasfilm are well in the works for a movie about the iconic Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, if the feature film seems to have found its director in the person of Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), no main actor has yet been announced (see us Ewan McGregor right now!)
Disney has never hidden its ambition to release various spin-offs between each episode of the main saga. This obviously offers more money for the company with big ears, while allowing the Star Wars expanded universe to expand, which pleases fans. With this episode planned on Obi-Wan, Lucasfilm is in the process of fulfilling the absolute fantasy of an entire community of fans of the Jedi master. However, many rumors had circulated in recent months and explained that this spin-off might not take place. The reason? Disney / Lucasfilm probably planned to bring back Obi-Wan in episodes VIII and IX of the saga. So they didn't want to multiply projects featuring the most "British" Jedi in the galaxy.
However, it seems that new arguments have been found to revive this iconic character of the saga. And when you see the work Lucasfilm has done on Obi-Wan since its acquisition by Disney, you can't wait to see what it will look like on the big screen. So let's see why the return of Obi-Wan in a spin-off would be a great thing.
Obi-wan in Star Wars Rebels
Very little present in the animated series produced by Disney, it is nevertheless a common thread during many episodes. It is also one of the main issues of season 3, since our heroes want to know if it is still alive and ready to fight.
And when the Jedi Master comes out of his hole to help Ezra Bridger (the young hero of Star Wars Rebels), what a slap the viewer takes in the face! During this one and only episode where Obi-Wan appears, we discover a Jedi master at the height of his wisdom and power (not to mention his foolproof class). This one gratifies us with dialogues with little onions but also with an absolutely extraordinary fight. Indeed, this confrontation not only shows how much progress Obi-Wan has made during his years of exile (he did not just wander the desert the bugger), but it also ends a rivalry that lasted several decades with another character well known to fans of the saga. Moreover, it should be noted that this fight unknown to the general public has a cathartic virtue for both Kenobi and his opponent. Yes, sometimes even lightsaber fights can have a philosophical background!
In short, what beautiful for this character in Star Wars Rebels ! And it's not over since Obi-Wan's psychological development has been fleshed out in other recent works supervised by Disney…
Obi-Wan in the comics
What would the Star Wars Expanded Universe be without the comics that made its reputation? Let's remember one thing first: Disney having removed the old expanded universe to create its own, we will only talk here about stories being "canon" with the movies. That being said, let's talk about two works that hint at an incredible development for this character.
The first story is set between Episodes I and II of the saga and features Obi-Wan and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker (aka Darth Vader). This work entitled " Obi-Wan and Anakin – receptive and hermetic" develops the psychology of the two characters in a very interesting way. Regarding Anakin, we discover the doubts that assail him (despite his youth) and his desire to break the inflexible codes of the Jedi order. Obi-Wan is also plagued by doubt. He fears being a bad tutor and is aware of the dark forces hovering around his apprentice. He fears not doing enough and letting Anakin get down the wrong slope. The latter wanted at the time to leave the Jedi order, Obi-Wan said he was ready to leave the order too, so as not to leave his protégé alone and continue to instill in him the values he believes are right. A classic development, but effective since never really addressed in the films as such. Indeed, Obi-Wan's guilt and doubts have always been evaded or underdeveloped in the films to make room for the main plot.
But where its development reaches its peak is in the comics "Star Wars – Showdown on Nar Shadaa". Which is paradoxical since the story does not follow him, but Luke Skywalker (THE last Jedi, no offense to the French translation of the next episode). In this volume, Luke begins to read a diary left by Obi-Wan for his attention. In these writings we discover how the Jedi Master experienced his exile and the suffering he endured. Since Obi-Wan has known only the Jedi Order all his life, exile seems to him not only as hell but also as inconceivable. He, who has spent his life in the service of others, must now hide in the desert without really being able to help those who need a defender. We follow his meditation, his questions, his suffering and the beginning of his life as protector of young Luke (which he obviously does with the utmost discretion). The end of this short story gives us a glimpse of an Obi-Wan ready to fight his demons and become stronger than he has ever been…
If in the space of a comic book and a half, Disney / Lucasfilm have managed to develop the psychology of this character to such an extent, imagine what it could be like for an entire film!
Ewan McGregor still starting
Let's face it, Obi-Wan probably wouldn't have been so appreciated without the incredible performance of Britain's Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting). And the latter seems more than willing to take back the tunic and lightsaber of the Jedi master. He said last year:
I always thought there was a story to tell between the last one I did and Alec Guinness' first. There is nothing planned, no one has approached me, but I would be willing to do it. It would be fun to shoot this story now that I'm older. I would be the right age, by the way.
We can only agree with him: there is a story to tell between episodes III and IV and it would be a thousand times more interesting than the discovery of his past. After all, these twenty years are the heyday of the empire and the hunt for the remaining Jedi. In addition, it is about his years of meditation and progress as a Jedi master, while secretly protecting Luke on a hostile planet serving as a lair for the worst galactic vermin.
In short, when we see the pharaonic potential of this spin-off, we can only be eager to know the next information, including the casting because who else but McGregor to take over this role? Between the development initiated by the comics, that of the animated series and all the tracks left by the old expanded universe (renamed "Legends"), it is difficult to imagine that this project is not excellent. Case to follow very closely!
