Obi-Wan Kenobi is the Star Wars version of Joker or Logan, says director Deborah Chow. The upcoming Disney+ show sees the return of Ewan McGregor to the role of the titular Jedi, which he played throughout the prequel trilogy to acclaim from fans and critics alike. The Obi-Wan Kenobi release date is currently set for Friday, May 27, after having been moved a couple days from May 25, the 45th anniversary of the original Star Wars releasing in theaters.
Fans have long been clamoring for Lucasfilm to revisit McGregor's Obi-Wan, and that was initially meant to come in the form of a feature film, as part of the studio's planned series of A Star Wars Story standalones. However, following the financial failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story and the subsequent pivot to The Mandalorian-esque TV shows, the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries took shape, alongside several others expected to release over the next couple of years. Given the character's history, however, prospective viewers have been eager to discover what the show will be like, and whether it will resemble The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
At a recent press conference (via Total Film), Chow gives Star Wars fans a hint at what to expect with a couple of very loaded comparisons. While clarifying that Obi-Wan Kenobi sports a very different tone, she cites the key draw of the project as the opportunity to do a character-driven drama in the vein of 2017's Logan and 2019's Joker. Check out Chow's full quote below:
I think I was the most excited about getting the opportunity to do a character driven story, in a similar way – it's a different tone – but something like Joker or Logan, where you take one character out of a big franchise and then you really have the time and you go a lot deeper with the character. So, that to me seemed really exciting to get to do in Star Wars.
While invoking Joker could invite a wide range of reactions, Chow's Obi-Wan Kenobi description should have fans excited. As two of the superhero genre's most acclaimed entries, Logan and Joker stood out as vehicles for their lead actors, with Joaquin Phoenix even taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the latter movie. McGregor getting the same opportunity with his Star Wars character is certainly an intriguing prospect, and exactly what many were hoping for from his return.
Additionally, even if Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't approach the darkness of those two films, Chow signals her series takes a very different approach from that of The Book of Boba Fett. While that show presented ostensibly the same opportunity for its underserved bounty hunter, it was widely criticized for sidelining its title character in the latter episodes, so much so that fans joked it was actually The Mandalorian season 2.5. If the scope of the Obi-Wan Kenobi show story really is as narrow as Chow describes, and Lucasfilm doesn't use it as an opportunity to continue hyping their expanded Star Wars TV universe, then audiences are in for a real treat.
Source: Total Film
