Rumor: That Obi-wan movie may finally be happening

I guess all that fan foot-stomping may finally be paying off. The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) is in “early talks” to direct a standalone starring Obi-wan Kenobi. It’s in “the earliest of stages” and there’s no script yet, so I don’t expect we’ll hear anything official from Lucasfilm anytime soon. (EW’s Anthony Breznican also seems positive on it – though again, “very early.”)

It’s not known if Ewan McGregor will return, but he’s been open to the idea ever since the standalones actually became a thing.

Better than Boba Fett, I guess.

Rumor: Ewan McGregor in talks for Obi-Wan Force ghost cameo?

rumors-swirl-sw-obiLast time we heard a rumor from the folks at Schmoes Know it was regarding an end credit scene for The Force Awakens. Will Kristian Harloff’s current tweet-scoop be more lucky? An appearance from Ewan McGregor as Force ghost Obi-wan Kenobi isn’t so far-fetched as to be out of the question.

McGregor already had a brief line in The Force Awakens, so maybe this time things will pan out for the Schmoes. We’ll see.

NYCC: Next Marvel limited series goes back to the prequel era for Obi-Wan & Anakin

obi-ani-1-crop

Obi-Wan & Anakin, a 5-issue limited series from writer Charles Soule (Lando) and artist Marco Checchetto (Shattered Empire) will debut in January, CBR reports. Here’s the official synopsis for #1:

“Before their military heroism in the Clone Wars, before their tragic battle on Mustafar, and many decades before their final confrontation on the Death Star… they were Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan learner, Anakin Skywalker. It’s been a few years since Obi-Wan pledged to train the young “chosen one,” but even as they have grown closer through training, it has been a difficult road. Now, called to a remote planet for assistance, Master and Padawan may be pushed to the breaking point. Writer Charles Soule (Lando, She-Hulk, Daredevil) and artist Marco Checchetto (Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Avengers World, Punisher) bring us a tale of the Jedi at the height of their power…”

Marvel has previously touched on the very end of the prequel era with the Rebels tie-in Kanan: The Last Padawan.

UPDATE: CBR has an interview with Soule about the mini-series.

Ewan McGregor on The Force Awakens, the broadsaber, and (maybe) returning as Obi-Wan

Not Obi-Wan:  Ewan McGregor in Last Days in the Desert
Not Obi-Wan, really: Ewan McGregor as Jesus in Last Days in the Desert.

“I’m excited about it as much as anyone else. I saw the trailer and it looks like he absolutely nailed it and it feels right,” Ewan McGregor said on The Force Awakens at the 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival this weekend.

He’s not sure about Kylo Ren’s lightsaber crossguard, though: “If you fight with a lightsaber properly you don’t need one.”

As for Obi-Wan Kenobi:

Would McGregor return to the role, if asked? “I’ll say it publicly, here, now. I’d be happy to do the story between Episode 3, that I finished in, and Episode 4 that Alec Guinness started in. I think that would be good. Disney should definitely do that.” McGregor’s tone suggested he was half-quipping.

We’ve known that McGregor would be down to return since the very day we learned there’d be new movies, but it’s nice to know that his interest hasn’t waned, at least.

McGregor was at the festival for the U.K. premiere of Last Days in the Desert, where he plays a duel role as Jesus and Satan. At least one upcoming role keeps him in the Disney family – he’s playing Lumiere in the live-action Beauty and the Beast that’s slated for 2017.

Rumor: Not just one Obi-wan spinoff… THREE Obi-wan spinoffs?

rumors-swirl-sw-obiWe’ve already heard once that a standalone Obi-wan Kenobi film may be in the works, but now the ante has been upped: There could be three, reports Cinelinx. Not a formal trilogy, but three different stories that all happen to feature Obi-wan in the 20 years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Their source claims there’ll be flashbacks to the Clone Wars (and even The Clone Wars,) Qui-gon Jinn and, naturally, Owen Lars. (Assuming Joel Edgerton doesn’t price himself out anytime soon… But hey, if they can get Liam Neeson again, the sky’s the limit.)

Cinelinx’s Jordan Maison wonders if these are just various pitches, or if they’ll wait to see how an Obi-wan film does before they okay more. But one thing is for sure: There’s a lot of enthusiasm out there for more Obi-wan.

Episode VII rumor grab-bag; Is an Obi-wan spinoff in the works already?

rumors-swirl-jedi-sithMaking Star Wars was busy last night. There’s a whole grab-bag of stuff from a source playing off the recent rumors, including the Luke timeline, the ‘guards’ at Greenham, Moraband, the Sith lineage and Daisy Ridley’s character’s name. But if you believe any of this, the biggest bombshell here may be that an Obi-wan Kenobi spin-off is higher in the pipeline than we may have expected:

I’ve heard from quite a few people now that an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie is in the works. For the spin-off movies they were initially going to stay away from any Jedi or Sith characters. But I’m hearing now that because of the popularity of Obi-Wan (fans recently voting for him on the official website etc) that an art team is now working with a writer on concepts for an Obi-Wan movie.

Of course an Obi-wan spinoff seems pretty much inevitable, with Ewan MacGregor game and twenty years between the trilogies to set it in, but the earlier rumors have mainly focused on characters like Boba Fett and Han Solo.

They also spotted a Tumblr post from a girl whose boyfriend is an extra at Greenham Common – she claims that Harrison Ford will be on set Monday.