Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Rupert Friend has already wrapped filming on the highly anticipated Disney+ Star Wars show. Lucasfilm has brought back many prominent Star Wars universe characters via Disney+, including Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze and – if only briefly – Luke Skywalker.
The floodgates have definitely been opened and now a deluge of popular Star Wars characters is about to hit the streaming service. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the most prominent character currently confirmed to return, with prequels star Ewan McGregor reprising the role. Rogue One’s Cassian Andor will also get a prequel showcase with Diego Luna returning. Lando Calrissian and the droid pair of R2-D2 and C-3PO are also reported to be getting their own shows but those projects are in very early stages of development (and may never make it to screens).
One Star Wars project that’s indisputably happening is Obi-Wan Kenobi. In fact the show is so far along in its production process that actors are already beginning to wrap their work. As reported by THR (via Star Wars News Net), Friend recently completed his part on the show and is now ready to head off to Spain to join Wes Anderson’s mystery project starring Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Margot Robbie and Tom Hanks.
No actual details have been released about Friend’s role in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but that’s to be expected given the veil of secrecy around everything Star Wars related. It has been revealed that Friend and McGregor will be joined in the show by Kumail Nanjiani, Joel Edgerton (reprising the role of Owen Lars), Bonnie Piesse (back as Aunt Beru), O’Shea Jackson Jr., Benny Safdie, Sung Kang (who reportedly plays an Inquisitor), Maya Erskine, Indira Varma, Moses Ingram, Simone Kessell and – most controversially – Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. One person who apparently won’t be back is Liam Neeson, whose Qui-Gon Jinn looks to be permanently sidelined. And since this is a Star Wars show there have also been plenty of rumors about other characters showing up, including the aforementioned R2-D2 and C-3PO, as well as young Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia and of course Obi-Wan’s old prequels nemesis Darth Maul.
The news that Friend has finished shooting his own role may not be the kind of huge Obi-Wan Kenobi update fans were waiting for but it’s at least a new concrete piece of information. Hopefully, there will soon be a lot more such information about the show, including a pinned down Disney+ premiere date. Even more exciting for fans will be the first glimpse of footage showing McGregor back in his old Jedi robes getting up to his old Jedi tricks amid the desolation of Tatooine (and whatever other environments the show takes him to). Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently slated for release at some point in 2022.
Source: THR (via Star Wars News Net)