Star Wars: Ewan McGregor Hasn’t Heard Obi-Wan Episode Count Was Reduced

The Star Wars world has undergone quite a lot of emotional turmoil this week, after reports surfaced that the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series had suffered an “indefinite delay”. Reports indicated that the series’ delay was due to an issue with the scripts, which had not been up to the caliber to theoretically film later this year. Some outlets also claimed that the inevitable rewrites would also lead to the series being shortened from six to four episodes — but it sounds like that might not be the case. While speaking with ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis at a Birds of Prey event, Ewan McGregor was asked about the possibility of a shorter episode order for the series. As McGregor put it simply, “I haven’t heard that.”

Granted, there’s a chance that a shorter episode order could still be happening, and that McGregor just hasn’t heard the details due to scheduling. But as the actor also told us, he’s pretty happy with the way the episode scripts have taken shape thus far.

“It just slipped to next year, that’s all,” McGregor said of the delay. “The scripts are really good. I think that so now that Episode IX came out and everyone at Lucasfilm’s got more time to look to spend on the writing, they felt like they wanted more time to write the episodes. I read about 80-90 percent of what they’ve written so far and it’s really, really good. And instead of shooting this August, they just want to start shooting in January, that’s all. It’s nothing more dramatic than that. It often happens in projects, they just wanted to push it to next year.”

The Obi-Wan series is expected to be set eight years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and follow McGregor’s character on his latest adventures.

“The storyline sits between Episode III and Episode IV,” McGregor explained, adding that “the Jedi Order was falling apart. It will be interesting to take a character we know in a way and show him—Well, his arc will be quite interesting, I think, dealing with that the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of Episode III. It’s quite something to get over.”

The series’ existing scripts were written by Hossein Amini, whose work includes Drive and The Alienist, and directed by Deborah Chow, who previously helmed an episode of the fellow Disney+ series Star Wars: The Mandalorian.

“We really wanted to select a director who is able to explore both the quiet determination and rich mystique of Obi-Wan in a way that folds seamlessly into the Star Wars saga,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said of Chow directing the series. “Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters in The Mandalorian, I’m absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story.”

What do you think of the latest details surrounding the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!