The “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series release date has officially been announced!
On Wednesday, Disney revealed that fans will be able to catch Kenobi’s latest adventure in a galaxy far, far away on May 25, 2022.
Ring in the 45th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope with the debut of the highly-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series on #DisneyPlus: https://t.co/VORFhB4g4m #ObiWanKenobi pic.twitter.com/nndC3tNLNv
— Disney D23 (@DisneyD23) February 9, 2022
Why is that date so important? The original “Star Wars” movie, “A New Hope,” opened on May 25, 1977 – exactly 45 years that Obi-Wan Kenobi first made an appearance on the silver screen. However, in the original trilogy, an older Kenobi was portrayed by the late Sir Alec Guinness, who sadly passed away in August 2000.
What Is The ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Series About?
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The “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series is plugged as a limited series, which means it’s probably not a good idea for fans to get their hopes up about a sequel!
That being said, fans will get six episodes to watch Ewan McGregor reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi from the prequel series. Hayden Christensen will be reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader as well.
In addition to McGregor and Christensen, the show will also feature Marvel’s “Eternals” actor Kumail Nanjiani, “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” star Sung Kang, “The Queen’s Gambit” actress Moses Ingram, “The King” actor Joel Edgerton, and “Den of Thieves” actor O’Shea Jackson Jr.
The limited series will also feature Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse reprising their roles as Uncle Owen Lars and Aunt Beru, respectively. The show is helmed by Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes in the first season of “The Mandalorian.”
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The limited series is set to take place ten years after “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” when Kenobi defeated his Skywalker apprentice and left him for dead. Anakin became Darth Vader after he was rescued by Emperor Palpatine, and Kenobi went into hiding on Tatooine to watch over a young Luke Skywalker.
There’s about a 19-year time gap between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope” which means that Luke Skywalker is still growing up and has yet to learn about his Skywalker parentage.
Chow is also producing the show alongside Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Joby Harold, and McGregor himself.
Ewan McGregor Reveals He Had To Undergo Rough Lightsaber Training To Prepare For Kenobi’s Next Adventure!
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the “Halston” actor said that “for months, we’ve been doing these monster, two-and-a-half-hour sessions of sword fights and hand-to-hand stuff.”
While doing the training, he was reminded of his role in the prequel films, which failed to live up to audiences’ expectations.
He said that it “was hard they didn’t get well-received. It was quite difficult. They were universally not very much liked.” Although the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy didn’t fair much better, the franchise has turned its luck around with popular Disney+ live-action series like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” which wrapped up its 7-chapter run on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.
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McGregor is looking forward to “Kenobi” being the next Disney+ success story.
“I’m really excited about it,” he gushed. “Maybe more so than the first ones, because I’m older – I just turned 50 – and I’m just in a much better place.”
“I would say I managed to have the career I started out wanting in the first place,” he added. “I’ve been involved in some big, silly stuff; but also lots of important stuff; and some little, silly stuff; and big, important stuff. I’ve been very lucky.”
Ewan McGregor’s Partner Joins The ‘Star Wars’ Universe In Upcoming Series!
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In addition to Diego Luna’s “Andor” coming later in 2022 and “The Acolyte,” which currently has no release date, fans are gearing up for Rosario Dawson’s “Ahsoka,” which has a planned release date for sometime in 2023.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that McGregor’s partner, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, had been cast in an unknown role in “Ahsoka.”
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Not too much is known about the show, although The Blast reported that “Ahsoka” had found its Sabine Wren last November. The character had previously only appeared in the animated “Star Wars: Rebel” series. Sabine is a Mandalorian warrior who once worked as part of the Ghost Crew to fight back against the Empire. She will be played by Australian actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo from Netflix’s “The Society.”
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Actress Ivanna Sakhno has also been cast in a yet-to-be-disclosed role. At this time, it is believed that she is a new character that has been created for the series, as reported by Variety.
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Fans may not be aware that Winstead and McGregor have actually been dating since 2017 after they met on the set of “Fargo,” a critically acclaimed FX comedy crime drama inspired by the 1996 film of the same name. On June 27, 2021 – less than one year ago – the couple welcomed their first son together.
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Although the couple won’t appear on-screen together, fans still love to see both talented actors appearing in a galaxy far, far away!