Obi-Wan Kenobi Scripts Are Written, to Begin Shooting in 2020

We finally have confirmation that Ewan McGregor will be returning to his iconic role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars galaxy, reprising the part of the Jedi Master for a brand new series on the Disney+ streaming service. And while Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy didn’t divulge too many details just yet, she did hint that the series is closer to premiering than we thought.

While speaking alongside McGregor at Disney’s D23 Expo, Kennedy revealed that the scripts for the Obi-Wan series were written and that filming would begin in earnest in 2020, which means we could get the Jedi’s return as soon as 2021.

ComicBook’s own Brandon Davis was on hand at the Disney+ showcase at the D23 Expo, where the much rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi series confirmed. Fans erupted into massive cheers when the iconic John Williams-scored song “Duel of the Fates” played over the speakers, and McGregor confirmed his return to the franchise.

McGregor has constantly teased his return to the Star Wars galaxy, commenting that he’d love to step into the shoes of the Jedi once again.

“I would totally do it, of course,” the actor explained in a television appearance in August of 2018. “There’s no plans as such to do it, as far as I know… There must be a good story to tell as they’re doing spin-offs – there’s likely to be a good Obi-Wan between me and Alec Guinness.”

Fans might be clamoring for a brand new Obi-Wan movie instead of a show, but Disney boss Bob Iger explained that they weren’t going to develop any big-budget films for the streaming service.

“Almost every movie the studio makes is a $100 million-plus movie, and we’re not looking to make movies at that level for the service,” Disney CEO Bob Iger earlier this year. “We’re looking to invest significantly in television series on a per-episode business, and we’re looking to make movies that are higher-budget, but nothing like that.”

“We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform,” Iger continued. “When everybody goes out on the weekend and you have a movie that opens up to $200 million, there’s a buzz that creates that enhances value. We like that. And eventually,the movies we’re making are going to [end up on] the service.”

Expect to hear much more about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s return to the galaxy far, far away in the near future.