So, What's The Hold-Up On An Obi-Wan Kenobi Spin-Off Movie?
A Star Wars spin-off movie focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi in the years between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy sounds like a license to print money and make everyone happy. The fans want it. Ewan McGregor wants to do it. So why not pull the trigger and make it happen?
Well, the latest story circling around the internet is that Lucasfilm isn't sitting on an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie because they don't want to do it, but for...other reasons. Reasons that some fans may not want to know if they're concerned about potential spoilers. Consider that your warning before scrolling down.
Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican recently appeared on the Rebel Force Radio podcast and amidst a discussion about the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, he spoke about the continuously swirling rumors that an Obi-Wan film starring McGregor was in the works. His response (via Star Wars News Net) is... surprising:
I have heard rumors that the one reason they haven't moved sooner on Obi-Wan is that they're not done with Obi-Wan quite yet in the Saga films. So I wouldn't be surprised to see an Obi-Wan thing happen beyond Episode IX.
Obi-Wan made a vocal cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, speaking to Daisy Ridley's Rey as she flashed through various familiar and unfamiliar moments from the Star Wars saga after touching Luke Skywalker's long-lost lightsaber. It seemed like a fun easter egg at the time, a way to help tie the new characters in the larger mythology of the Star Wars universe. But Breznican seems to be suggesting the Obi-Wan, despite being dead for decades, may have a role to play in the new trilogy.
While he does admit that he doesn't know the whole picture and is simply assembling the bits and pieces of information he has acquired from different sources, Breznican believes that Rey has some kind of connection to the old Jedi master:
...I think that they'll probably be some reference to Obi-Wan in the Saga films, and his connection to whatever characters he happens to have a connection with. I've already written that I think that Rey has some kind of connection to him – family connection. So if that's the case, maybe we see a part of that play out in the future Obi-Wan movie. Ewan McGregor would be the perfect age to reprise that [character]...
Considering some of the theories Star Wars fans have attached to Rey (She's the reincarnation of Anakin Skywalker! She's a female clone of Emperor Palpatine!), being related to Obi-Wan Kenobi sounds pretty reasonable. It would explain her natural connection to the Force, and it would be the exact kind of important reveal that a spin-off movie may want to take into account.
In the meantime, those hungry for new Obi-Wan Kenobi stories should look to Marvel's Star Wars comic, which features regular flashbacks to the characters' time on Tatooine, where he battles criminals, protects the locals, and keeps a close watch over Luke Skywalker.