A total of eight new “Star Wars” series have been announced for Disney +, but my fan anticipation applies to the majority of the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series. That’s because of Ewan McGregor – and because this series isn’t going to be very long.
+++ opinion +++
„Hello there!“- Anyone who woke up as” Star Wars “on Friday morning and looked at their cell phone was surprised by a total of twelve announcements / confirmations of new” Star Wars “projects that were announced during the night. First of all, it wasn’t about the fans, after all, the event was called “Disney Investor Day“:
The financiers of the largest media group in the world were slain with an avalanche of new films and series from “Star Wars”, Marvel & Co., so that they happily open their wallets in the confidence of a lucrative future.
Movie by “Wonder Woman” director, many series for Disney +: All new “Star Wars” projects at a glance!
As a “Star Wars” fan, I have mixed feelings about the many announcements, especially since numerous other “Star Wars” projects that were also announced with much fanfare have been smashed in the past (someone is still waiting for the Rian Johnson trilogy ?) or there was still a strong crunch in production between the creative team and Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy.
When I look at the new list, I think several times “I don’t need” or “I need more information” – but it looks different with one of the projects.
Can I watch the Obi Wan series right now, please?
Ewan McGregor: The best actor in the prequels is back
Yes, the confirmed return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader is the news of the week for many fans, but his performance in the prequels never fully convinced me.
Instead, I’m still looking forward to Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is now the right age (the series takes place nine years before “Star Wars 4”, where we see the then 63 Alec Guinness as Grandpa Obi). Above all, McGregor has made the role in the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy his own – and can develop it further in the series, which is to be shot from January 2021.
Ewan McGregor played his Jedi as a wise but not obdurate teacher, as a gently ironic but not cynical observer of a declining republic. Obi-Wan is also one of the saga’s most tragic characters: he loses his master Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson), he loses – see “The Clone Wars” – his great love Satine Kryz, Duchess of Mandalore, and he loses his student / Friend / brother Anakin Skywalker who wiped out much of the Jedi Order.
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Obi-Wan has to confront his past
The series “Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi“Will show a Jedi who takes care of young Luke from a distance, a Jedi who is hunted by the Empire and it becomes – as director Deborah Chow has confirmed – another confrontation between Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan give. But what will be most interesting is how Obi-Wan deals with his tragic past.
The core of the series must be about coming to terms with the past, Obi-Wan’s handling of his losses and his guilt for the case of Anakin Skywalker. Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) from “The Mandalorian” is a character with depth precisely because he too grapples with his past bit by bit – and who knows, maybe in the course of their series both of them notice that their respective medals, whether whether Jedi or hardcore Mandalorians hold some questionable views.
“Obi-Wan” will be short
As things stand, “Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi” is supposed to be a completed mini-series only six episodes – and that’s very good news for me. It helps a series when the makers know from the start where the journey should go – and when there doesn’t have to be filler episodes to make the season longer. Whether, for example, the newly announced “Mandalorian” spin-off series “Rangers Of The New Republic” will also stand on such a stable story structure remains to be seen …
… but the “Obi-Wan” series clearly has that for me at the moment high ground!
Webedia / Sebastian Gerdshikow
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