Calling all Star Wars fans: the stand-alone Obi-Wan movie is happening. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill.
As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm is moving forward with a film centered around Obi-Wan Kenobi, though talks are in the earliest stages. Right now, director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Crown) is in negotiations to helm the film. No word yet on whether or not Ewan McGregor will reprise his role, but I’d be shocked if he didn’t.
The rumor of a stand-alone Obi-Wan film has been rumbling around the internet ever since Lucasfilm announced they’d be doing movies outside of the main Star Wars series. No details have been released, but an educated guess would say this story would take place in the time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Why? Because it’s the only significant chunk of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life audiences haven’t seen. The animated series The Clone Wars filled in not only Obi-Wan’s life as Anakin Skywalker’s Jedi Master, but gave background into what it was like for Kenobi as a young Padawan under Qui-Gon Jin. It’s possible Lucasfilm would recast the Jedi Knight and show his early years, but much like how The Clone Wars showed Yoda didn’t just hang out on Dagobah, I can imagine “Old Ben” did more than sit around watching Luke grow up from afar.
However, the project is still in its infancy; THR reports there is currently no script. No screenwriters have yet been floated as possible contenders. Should Daldry take up the mantle, he will join Lucasfilm in overseeing both the script and development. As such, the Obi-Wan movie could be the next stand-alone project from Lucasfilm after the untitled Han Solo film. Lucasfilm is currently keeping an alternating schedule with a trilogy movie one year and a spin-off film the next. Right now, that is Star Wars: The Last Jedi, followed by Untitlted Han Solo, and then Star Wars: Episode IX. Whatever comes next is unknown, though rumors of a Boba Fett or Yoda story have been persistent. Yet with Lucasfilm officially coming on board with Obi-Wan, my guess is it will be the 2020 Star Wars entry.
