Following the release ofSolo: A Star Wars Story, there seemed to be a change at Lucasfilm that saw a number of future projects being put on the backburner or being scrapped entirely. One project that seemed to be in uncertain territory was anObi-Wan Kenobimovie that would have followed solo and brought Ewan McGregor back to Star Wars as the Jedi master. Now of course we are getting ready to see McGregor and Hayden Christensen in the seriesObi-Wan Kenobi,and Lucasfilm presidentKathleen Kennedyhas revealed how the launch of Disney+ played a big part in the project’s transition from movie to series.
Following the huge success ofRogue One: A Star Wars Story,there was a whole wave of follow-up movies put into development including a Han Solo movie, which was released, a Boba Fett movie, and an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie. However, afterSolo: A Star Wars Storyreceived mixed reviews and underperformed compared toRogue One, those movies seemed to be lost forever.
While talking toEWabout the upcoming series, Kennedy mentioned the development ofObi-Wan Kenobi, and how the decision of Disney to enter the streaming world would change the direction of theStar Warsfranchise. She said:
“When Bob Iger very specifically said, ‘We are going to start to shift our priority to making series for Disney+, and we’re launching the streaming service,’ that really was what shifted our strategy. We started to look at the opportunity in the streaming space where we could do long-form storytelling, and we realized there was an opportunity to experiment in that space without the level of scrutiny that happens when you release a feature.”
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Disney’s Decision To Turn To Streaming For Their Biggest IPs Has Paid Off So Far
While the strategy was a huge gamble for Disney, there is no doubt that their foray into TV streaming with their Marvel andStar Warsfranchises has massively paid off.Star Warskicked off their live action TV shows withThe Mandalorian, and the series starring Pedro Pascal has become one of the highest ratedStar Warsprojects ever. Earning a number of awards, critical praise and a huge audience response, fans of the series are looking forward to the third season of that show later in the year, but all eyes are now resting firmly onObi-Wan Kenobito see how well that series fares with audiences and critics.
December saw the release ofThe Book of Boba Fett, a show that brought back one of the biggest fan favorite characters of theStar Warscanon in a series that ended up being dubbedThe MandalorianSeason 2.5. Despite being highly anticipated, the show didn’t quite hit the heights of the flagship series and for many relied too much on fan-service cameos andThe Mandalorian’s story. Many people are now waiting to find out ifObi-Wan Kenobican manage to avoid succumbing to the fan-service trap and also hold onto some kind of continuity fromRevenge of the SithandA New Hopeat the same time. All will be revealed when the series premieres onDisney+on May 25.
