Prior to the release of Solo, Disney and Lucasfilm had big plans for Star Wars spinoffs. With Rogue One having exceeded box office expectations, substantial rumors were buzzing around that we’d see Obi-Wan and Boba Fett movies very soon. Then Solo was greeted by a frosty reception and proceeded to sink like a stone, making just $392 million on a $275 million budget.
Sure, a $117 million profit is nothing to sniff at, but given that previous Star Wars movies had passed the $1 billion mark, it must have been a serious disappointment for Disney. Understandably then, soon after, we heard that those other spinoffs were on ice. But now there are rumors that the Mouse House might be resurrecting the Obi-Wan solo movie as a Disney Plus show.
I’ve done a bit of digging on this story and as far as I can tell it’s based on this week’s news that Disney and Lucasfilm have registered two new production companies in the UK. One of them, known as E&E Industries (UK) Ltd., is expected to be in charge of production on the first entry in Rian Johnson’s new trilogy, with the second apparently an unannounced new series for Disney Plus.
The first Star Wars Disney Plus show, The Mandalorian, is already in the can and entering post-production, with the Rogue One spinoff about Cassian Andor having not yet started production. Now, given that some pre-production must have been done on the Obi-Wan project before its cancellation, it sort of makes sense that they could repurpose that for a show.
That being said, I don’t see this rumor panning out. For one thing, I really want to see Ewan McGregor back in the role and I doubt he’d commit to a TV show. Plus, what would Obi-Wan even be doing on Tatooine that could fill a season-long arc? The whole point of the character at this stage in his life is that he’s hiding out as a ‘crazy hermit,’ avoiding grand adventures and basically just keeping an eye on Luke.
I think you’ve got to chalk this one up to wishful thinking. That said, Lucasfilm are certainly working on something for Disney Plus that we haven’t seen yet, and as soon as we know what it is, we’ll be sure to share it with you.
