Before Obi-Wan Kenobi became a television series, it was conceived as a trilogy of films according to the original writer of the project. Obi-Wan Kenobi recently concluded its six-episode run, which saw Ewan McGregor reprise his role as the titular Jedi master. The series was a big hit for Disney+ as it had the biggest premiere of any series on the streaming platform.
Obi-Wan Kenobi originally was set to be a feature film. In 2017 Stephen Daldry was set to direct Obi-Wan Kenobi as a movie with screenwriter Hossein Amini set to pen the script. It was just one of many planned spinoffs based on popular Star Wars characters like a planned Boba Fett film from James Mangold and the then-yet-to-be-released Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, after the disappointing box office returns for Solo, Lucasfilm altered their plans and reworked both Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi into streaming series.
In an exclusive interview with TheDirect, writer Stuart Beattie (Collateral) reveals that the original plan was for Obi-Wan Kenobi to be a trilogy of films. Beattie reveals he first pitched Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2016, a whole year before Daldry and Amini were announced on the project and that wrote a full script for the Obi-Wan Kenobi feature film, and because the series was based on his script he received a writing credit on Episodes 1, 2, 3, and 6 of the series even though he had no direct involvement in the series. Beattie reveals he pitched Lucasfilm on three stories that he intended to be a trilogy, mapping out how Obi-Wan would grow into his character in A New Hope and explaining how and why he was ready to sacrifice himself on the Death Star. Beattie said:
"So when I pitched my Obi-Wan story to Lucasfilm, I said, 'There's actually three stories here. Because there's three different evolutions that the character has to make in order to go from Obi-Wan to Ben.' And the first one was the first movie, which was the show, which was, 'Surrender to the will of the Force. Transport your will, surrender your will. Leave the kid alone.' So then, the second [movie] was thinking about where Kenobi ends up. And one of the most powerful and probably the most powerful moment in all of Obi-Wan's story is that moment where he sacrifices himself in A New Hope. Great moment, you know, makes you cry. But, if you stop and think about it, it's a pretty sudden thing, to just kind of go be fighting a guy, to see Luke and go, 'I'm gonna die.' You know, that to me, that required forethought. That required pre-acceptance that this was going to happen...It's one of those universal things we all struggle with, to come to terms with our own mortality. So, that was the second step of the evolution for me, that Obi-Wan now has to come to terms with his own mortality, somehow in a prophecy, or Qui-Gon telling him, 'There's going to come a moment where you're gonna have to sacrifice yourself for the good,' And then [Obi-Wan] is like, 'What? No, no, no, no, I'm here to help... I can't, no.' And get him to that point where Obi Wan has accepted the idea that he's going to die, and that he's going to die willingly at a crucial moment, and you will know when that moment presents itself. So that when that moment comes up in [A New Hope], you understand. He's recognizing he's been on this journey already, and he's waiting for this moment, and that's how he's able to make it so easily. To do this [sacrifice], and die. So that to me was the second evolution, the second film, the second story. So for me, if I have anything to do with the second season of Obi Wan, that's the character evolution that I would take him on. That, to me, is really interesting. And like I said, universal."
The news of a trilogy of Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff films is an interesting look at how Lucasfilm intended to expand the Star Wars brand past the Skywalker saga. Had Obi-Wan Kenobi been released as a film, it or the planned Boba Fett movie likely would have intended to be released in 2020 following the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker before the COVID-19 pandemic would have altered those plans. An Obi-Wan Kenobi trilogy likely would have had an installment released every two years, with the years in between seeing another Star Wars film be it other spinoffs or Rian Johnson's planned Star Wars trilogy.
With how popular Obi-Wan Kenobi has been on Disney+ with audiences, there is a strong chance the planned limited series will return for a second season. No word has been made but McGregor seems to be open to reprising his role and with the reveal of Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in the final episode it feels like there are more stories to tell. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's comments suggest Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2 is likely and it seems like they already have story ideas for a follow-up series.
Source: TheDirect
