New ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Rumored to Start Filming in 2019

Ok, Star Wars fans, find the largest grain of salt you can find and get ready for the latest rumor of a new spinoff movie.

A report from the Belfast Telegraph suggests the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie will begin filming in Ireland with Ewan McGregor later this year, but the report makes a lot of assumptions.

It all comes down to former Lucasfilm owner and Star Wars mastermind George Lucas visiting the town and eating at a nice restaurant. While he could have been on vacation, Lucas’ presence ignited a wave of speculation to the point where rumors suggested he was actually location scouting.

Keep in mind Lucas has nothing to do with the production of the new Star Wars movies, except for his brief visit to the set of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

But the report goes on to state that the movie will indeed shoot in Belfast, Ireland throughout 2019, and that Lucas was there to give his seal of approval on the location.

“We’ve been told there will be work throughout 2019 because Star Wars is coming to Belfast,” an insider said to the Telegraph. “It was all very low key, only a few people knew that the old guy walking round the set was George Lucas. It was only when we were told about Star Wars coming here next year that it dawned on us that was why he was here before Christmas.”

Of course, this report raises tons of red flags. First of all, Lucas would not be location scouting, nor would his seal of approval be required for the location. Most importantly, the Obi-Wan spinoff movie is little more than a rumor of a project in development in this point. While director Stephen Daldry’s involvement was revealed last year, there’s no word that the project is actually moving forward, and even less indication that McGregor would return to reprise the role.

A similar rumor cropped up last year that Rian Johnson was getting ready to film his new Star Wars trilogy in Scotland. That was quickly debunked considering Johnson has yet to start pre-production on the film, much less complete a script. With his commitments on Star Wars: The Last Jedi only recently wrapped, he’ll likely take time to finish a draft at the first installment of his new trilogy.

Given that both rumors originated in the United Kingdom, it’s likely that the locations will be used for filming on Star Wars: Episode IX, which is the only announced film on the production docket at this point.

So while this rumor might spread and rile up some excitement among Star Wars fans, don’t put stock in the Obi-Wan movie yet.