Disney Plus's Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Cast, teaser, all the latest news

Disney Plus's Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Cast, teaser, all the latest news

Disney Plus' "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series will feature a rematch between the light side and the dark side. The Star Wars show will bring back Jedi Master played by Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen as his former apprentice. In addition, Obi-Wan Kenobi has just added Maya Erskine (co-creator/star of "PEN 15") to the cast.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi show has been in the works for years at Disney Plus by writer/director Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian. McGregor was involved from the beginning, and it was a big surprise when Christensen's return was announced at Disney Investor Day in December. We were then even more excited when the Obi-Wan Kenobi teaser was released on Disney Plus Day (November 12).

Christensen was an unknown up-and-comer when George Lucas cast him in the Star Wars prequel film. He first played Anakin Skywalker in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and transformed into Darth Vader after a brutal battle with Obi-Wan at the end of Revenge of the Sith.

"Playing Anakin Skywalker has been such an amazing journey," Christensen said in a statement. Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren't on the best of terms when we last saw them: ...... It will be interesting to see what a great director like Deborah Chow has in store for us. I am excited to be working with Ewan again. It feels good to be back."

The Disney Plus Day Obi-Wan Kenobi teaser got us lots of concept art and interviews, but the juiciest thing is that Hayden Christiansen is not only returning as Anakin Skywalker. He'll be donning Darth Vader's armor and dueling Obi-Wan.

Here is what we know so far about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series (which we will see after rewatching the Star Wars films in order).

Disney Plus has not yet set a release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but says the series will debut sometime in 2022; the six-episode limited series began filming in the spring of 2021 and finished in August of that year;

the series will be a "limited series," with the first episode set for March 2022.

The project has been in development for years. It was first announced at the 2019 D23 Expo. However, news broke that the show was in trouble; in January 2020, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy was not satisfied with the script and wanted to start over with a new writer.

These issues appear to have been resolved, as Obi-Wan Kenobi's show was a key part of the Disney Plus presentation to investors.

One can only speculate as to when the show will first air on streaming services. If the show requires as much time for visual effects and post-production as "The Mandalorian," it is likely that the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" show will not debut until after spring 2022.

When the Obi-Wan Kenobi show was first announced in 2019, Disney also said that Ewan McGregor would reprise his role as a middle-aged version of the iconic Jedi Master.

On December 10, Disney Plus revealed that Hayden Christensen will once again play Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader. He previously appeared as Anakin in the films Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, as well as a voice cameo in 2019's Rise of Skywalker.

On March 29, yet another new Obi-Wan Kenobi cast was revealed. They include Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Peace, who reprise their roles as Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars newcomers include Kumail Nanjiani, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Song Kang, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Simone Kessel, and Benny Safdie.

Another new face coming to the galaxy far, far away is Maya Erskine, co-creator and star of Hulu's teen angst comedy "PEN15," who, according to Deadline, will appear in at least three episodes, although her role remains a mystery.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series takes place 10 years after "Revenge of the Sith."

In the Star Wars timeline, this would be about nine years before "Episode IV: A New Hope" and about the same time as "Solo: A Star Wars Story". Could Darth Maul, played by Ray Park, appear in the Obi-Wan series? Possibly.

Speaking to Men's Journal in October 2019, McGregor revealed a bit about what to expect from the Kenobi show's storyline.

"I think his arc will be very interesting because it brings in a character that we all know in a way and deals with the fact that the Jedi were all killed off at the end of Episode III. That's a tough thing to get past."

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