We have waited for 15 years, and now that it’s finally happening, it still feels like they’re somehow messing up this Obi-Wan Kenobi series. In an interview for Entertainment Tonight, Ewan McGregor (who is returning to the role all these years later) said that as far as he knows, it’s a stand-alone season and … WHAT?
For many of us (I’m speaking about myself), we grew up watching Star Wars, but the prequels were the first time we got to go to the cinema and see a new Star Wars film. So, hearing that one of the main, most beloved characters of that era will be limited to a single season of TV in his return is disappointing.
To help allay our fears, he did say, “Who knows?” so the prospect of there being more than just one season with Ewan McGregor at the helm exists. The problem the show now faces is comparison to The Mandalorian, and reportedly, it has undergone rewrites because of this comparison. According to CBR, one of the major reasons for the series changing is that Hossein Amini (who was originally leading the project) left because Disney/Lucasfilm thought it was too similar to The Mandalorian.
Yeah, of course it is! All Obi-Wan Kenobi was doing after Darth Vader’s rise to power was making sure that Luke Skywalker was alive and well on the sand planet of Tatooine. So like … he’s just a Dadajedi watching over an important, Force-sensitive baby—not that much different than the Dadalorian!
To be honest, that’s fine. I’d rather have two shows somewhat similar in tone that match with the canon we know exists. A major problem with the sequel trilogy is that it took the canon we knew and loved from Star Wars and threw it out the window with no remorse.
So now, when we’re finally getting something we’ve been waiting for for 15 years, it almost feels like they’re messing this up by once again making decisions based on factors outside of what makes the most sense for the story and fandom so far. Why? It’s not that hard! We all want grumpy Obi-Wan Kenobi protecting little Luke Skywalker. Give me my old, sad space virgin just like chilling in his cave, and then someone finds out that Luke is there, and he’s like, “Not on my watch.” Or, I don’t know, USE THE DARTH MAUL CONNECTION YOU PUT IN SOLO.
There’s a long history between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi and you can, most definitely, use the source material you all have at your disposal. Disney, I promise you, if you use your own expanded universe, fans are not going to be mad. At least, we won’t be as mad as we were when you decided that Palpatine definitely does the nasty.
I hope that this tactic works. And by that, I mean the “I would do more” move that Ewan McGregor is known for. He said over and over again before that he’d play Obi-Wan again, and it got us this series. So … listen to McGregor and give us more than 4 episodes, or so help me God, I will march my little butt over to Lucasfilm with a sign.
(image: Lucasfilm)
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