One Lucasfilm executive had an unexpected and colorful response to the latest news concerning “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
The latest Disney+ “Star Wars” live-action show will be hitting the streaming service on May 25, 2022 – exactly 45 years to the day that the first “Star Wars” film, “A New Hope,” hit theaters on May 25, 1977.
However, as The Hollywood Reporter gathered, the process of creating the show was far from smooth sailing. Conflicting reports about whether or not a key villain from “The Phantom Menace” is causing a great deal of confusion among “Star Wars” fans.
Scrapped Plans & Old Villains Lead To Drama Behind The Scenes Of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’
One source told the outlet that although Darth Maul was supposed to appear in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” with actor Ray Park on board, plans to have him appear were scrapped last minute and led to a complete overhaul of the show. This creative overhaul led to other villains, like Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor, taking center stage.
The original writer tasked with bringing the six-episode series alongside director Deborah Chow was Hossein Amini. However, preproduction of the series was paused in early 2020 – allegedly, because Lucasfilm was unhappy with the script. One source told THR that Chow had shown the scripts of the show to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, who were relishing in the success of “The Mandalorian” and hard at work at season 2.
However, when they saw the scripts, they were concerned with the possible overlap between “Obi-Wan Kenobi” and “The Mandalorian.” A source with knowledge of the project said that Maul was one of the villains who was tasked with hunting down Kenobi on Tatooine; Darth Vader was not yet introduced to the project at this stage. Apparently, Filoni and Favreau pushed Chow to “go bigger.”
Kathleen Kennedy Gets Involved To Help ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Find Its Footing
It’s not clear who told Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy about concerns with the script, but Joby Harold was eventually brought on as the show’s new writer to take the show in a different direction. One source said that Ray Park had already been brought in for preproduction and was involved in stunt training. The source added that footage of Park could have been shot, but admitted that it might be test footage.
To make matters even more interesting, another Lucasfilm source contradicted that account, saying that Maul was never intended to return to the series. They also deny that Park ever came to the set.
Whatever the case, Maul was written out of the show in subsequent drafts. Another source said that it was “Rebels” creator Dave Filoni who actually brought up the idea of bringing Darth Vader and the Grand Inquisitor into live-action.
Although one boy was allegedly cast as a young Luke Skywalker, a new actor – Grant Freely – was selected after the script changes. The only acting credit to Freely’s name is an episode of “Creepshow,” at least according to IMDb.
Lucasfilm Creative Executive Criticizes The Contradictory Report With Vulgar Tweet
Lucasfilm Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo seems to have a history of offending fans with his insensitive tweets, although at least this latest remark isn’t aimed at any one fan in particular.
As Inside the Magic recalled, many fans were excited to see Mark Hamill reprise his role as a de-aged Luke Skywalker for the season 2 finale of “The Mandalorian.” One “Star Wars” fan who runs the “Star Wars Theory” YouTube channel was moved to tears seeing Luke Skywalker again.
However, Pablo Hidalgo seemed to mock the emotional fan with a tweet that read, “Emotions are not for sharing.” For whatever reason, Hidalgo took a screenshot of his tweet and made it his Twitter header, adding insult to injury.
Although Hidalgo has made his account private, StarWarsNews.net took a screenshot of a colorful tweet referencing plans that Darth Maul was initially meant to be the main antagonist in the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series.
“A brown sun rises,” Hidalgo tweeted. “Bull—- has been spilled.”
At this point, neither Dave Filoni nor Deborah Chow has commented on the initial reports that Darth Maul was set to appear in the six-episode limited series.
Fans will just have to see how the show unfolds for themselves when “Obi-Wan Kenobi” debuts on Disney+ on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
