Star Wars: Obi-Wan Series Adds Oscar-Winning Pixar Director to Writing Staff
The most-anticipated Star Wars TV series to-date arrives in May, with Ewan McGregor returning to continue the story of iconic Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. Fans have wanted to see more of McGregor and Hayden Christensen in their Star Wars roles ever since the prequel trilogy concluded and those wishes are finally coming true. The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is being led by director Deborah Chow, who helmed multiple episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and it looks as though the show's writing staff is pretty stacked as well.
According to a listing on the Writers Guild of America website, Andrew Stanton co-wrote one of the episodes of the Obi-Wan series. Even if you aren't familiar with the name, there's a good chance you've seen quite a bit of Stanton's work. The filmmaker has had a wildly successful career at Pixar animation studios, serving on the writing team for the Toy Story franchise and Monsters, Inc., and directing the likes of Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, and WALL-E. Stanton also directed Disney's John Carter and episodes of Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, and Legion.
The listing on the WGA site reveals that Stanton co-wrote the fifth episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi with Joby Harold, who is credited on each of the five episodes mentioned. Other writers include Hossein Amini, Stuart Beattie, and Hannah Friedman.
McGregor and Christensen are joined in Obi-Wan Kenobi by Kumail Nanjiani, Rupert Friend, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Maya Erskine, Sung Kang, Benny Safdie, Simone Kessell, Bonnie Piesse, Moses Ingram, and Indira Varma. With the exception of Obi-Wan and Vader, all of the roles are new and being kept under wraps.
Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. After the rise of the Empire, Obi-Wan went into hiding on Tatooine, keeping watch over Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, from afar. After the death of Padme, and Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, newborn twins Luke and Leia were split up. Luke was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, under the watchful eye of Obi-Wan, while Leia was adopted by Senator Bail Organa.
Lucasfilm recently announced that the premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi is being moved back by just a couple days, now launching on Friday, May 27th. The debut will include the first two episodes of the series.
Are you looking forward to Obi-Wan Kenobi? Let us know in the comments!