A director is in talks, but no word yet on Ewan McGregor.
With Ron Howard taking over the still-Untitled Han Solo movie for Lucasfilm, it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything of note out of the house that Lucas built. With Episode VIII in post-production, the Star Wars forces have been keeping a bit of a low profile. That said, there’s no lull that can’t be fixed with a little breaking news.
According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Borys Kit, there’s movement on the long-rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone film. Per the report, Stephen Daldry, the Oscar-nominated director of Billy Elliot and The Hours, is in early talks to direct the film.
“Sources say talks are at the earliest of stages and that the project has no script,” explains Kit. “If a deal makes, Daldry would oversee the development and writing with Lucasfilm brass. It’s not known at this stage if Ewan McGregor will reprise his role.”
An Obi-Wan movie is one of several rumored projects gestating behind the scenes at Lucasfilm. There have been rumblings of anthology films that would focus on the likes of Yoda and Boba Fett to fill Lucasfilm’s objective of having a new Star Wars film out every year until the end of time. It would make sense for an Obi-Wan film to be in the on-deck circle, however, especially if the eventual film would star Ewan McGregor, who played the character in the prequels. Now 46, McGregor would be in the sweet spot, age-wise, to play Obi-Wan in between the end of the prequels and the start of the original trilogy. In recent interviews, McGregor has come out and said that he’s open to playing the character again. Because honestly, who wouldn’t be?
There’s another reason why we might see movement on an Obi-Wan movie, but this is based almost entirely in the realm of fan theory. As we’ve learned recently from statements by director Rian Johnson, The Last Jedi will do some exploration of the family history of Rey. If that family history includes a link to Luke Skywalker’s original protector and mentor Obi-Wan (which would be fun), perhaps an Obi-Wan movie would explore that subject a little further. If there’s anything Disney subsidiaries like Lucasfilm and Marvel enjoy, it’s connective tissue.
