Ewan McGregor Downplays Obi-Wan Kenobi Delay, Praises Show’s Scripts

Last week, the Star Wars fandom was rocked with unexpected shock as the long-rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series was put on an indefinite hold. In a new interview with Comicbook.com, Ewan McGregor, who has played the Jedi master since 1999’s The Phantom Menace, clarified that news surrounding events behind the scenes of the show have been overblown by the media. Talking with reporters while attending the premiere of his latest film, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), McGregor said that Obi-Wan Kenobi has not been canceled by Disney or Lucasfilm.

Elaborating, McGregor said that now that Lucasfilm is done with The Rise of Skywalker, they have been taking a closer look at the scripts for Obi-Wan Kenobi. McGregor was adamant in expressing that the delay is only to polish the episodes’ scripts. While filming on the series was supposed to start in August, it has now been moved back to January 2021. The actor says that both he and the production staff believe that they will be able to release the series with the original premiere date, which has yet to be revealed. McGregor went on to praise the scripts for Obi-Wan Kenobi, which have been written by Drive and The Alienist’s Hossein Amini. The actor added that he has read 80 to 90 percent of Amini’s work and that it is top notch.

According to The Wrap, while McGregor’s words might come as relief to Star Wars fans, many franchise diehards are placing the blame for all the drama surrounding the series on the shoulders of Kathleen Kennedy, who currently serves as president of Lucasfilm. Many are calling for Kennedy’s removal from the position, pointing out the troubled productions of 2016’s Rogue One and 2018’s Solo. Fans also hold Kennedy responsible for the lackluster critical reception of last month’s The Rise of Skywalker. Kennedy’s contract with Lucasfilm will be up in 2021.

Despite the delay of the highly anticipated and long requested series, other Star Wars fans are happy that Lucasfilm is taking their time with the series. These fans argue that the muddled and unfocused sequel trilogy was due to a lack of direction and planning from the studio. In going back and polishing the show’s scripts, these fans says that Lucasfilm will be able to give fans the best quality series possible.