OBI-WAN KENOBI Series On Disney+ Finds A Director In THE MANDALORIAN's Deborah Chow

It was at D23 that we learned Obi-Wan Kenobi is coming to Disney+ and the highly anticipated live-action series starring Ewan McGregor now has a director! Find out more about what to expect right here...

By JoshWilding - Sep 27, 2019 03:09 PM EST

Filed Under: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Back when Obi-Wan Kenobi was set to be a movie, Stephen Daldry was attached to take the helm of the Star Wars spinoff. Well, he's clearly not making the leap to Disney+ because it's been revealed today that Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian) will be in the director's chair for this one.

Ewan McGregor will be reprising the role of the Jedi Master in the series that takes place eight years after Revenge of the Sith and there's understandably a lot of excitement surrounding it.

"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," says Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. "Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters in The Mandalorian, I’m absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story."

It's also been revealed that Hossein Amini (The Alienist, Drive) has been tapped as the show's writer.

He, along with Chow and McGregor will serve as Executive Producers, as will Kennedy, Tracey Seaward (The Queen) and John Swartz (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).

A lot of A-List talent is involved here and it feel like Obi-Wan Kenobi could be something special!

Hit the "View List" button to check out the
10 characters we want to see in The Mandalorian!

Sabine Wren

Mandalore, its people, and cultures all factored into Star Wars Rebels in a big way and it's entirely feasible that Pedro Pascal's unnamed Mandalorian will be tied to one of the characters we met in the Disney XD animated series. When it comes to Sabine, though, it's easy to imagine her quest to find Ezra taking her to one of those Outer Rim planets.

Ming-Na Wen seems like a pretty fitting choice to play an older version of this character, but even just a reference to her family is something fans of Dave Filoni's series would appreciate.

Bear in mind that he's involved in The Mandalorian as a writer and director, so him finding a way to tie the first live-action Star Wars TV series into that beloved animated adventure makes perfect sense. As cameos go, this is definitely one that would be well-received and get fans talking.

Mara Jade

Star Wars: The Last Jedi made it clear that Luke Skywalker never met his Expanded Universe wife Mara Jade, but there's really no reason why The Mandalorian couldn't deliver a new take on her. She's been both an assassin for The Emperor and a smuggler, so borrowing any number of elements from her history could easily explain why she crosses path with this show's bounty hunter.

Some fans probably wouldn't be happy with what would essentially be a rebooted version of Mara, but just like Star Wars Rebels took Grand Admiral Thrawn and did something new with him while remaining loyal to the way he was portrayed in the EU, so too could this live-action series. Her history with Luke Skywalker, however, is probably something that wouldn't even be mentioned.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Grand Admiral Thrawn is every bit as beloved as Darth Vader and The Emperor among some fans, and he's one of the names who has been mentioned this week as being a very real possibility for an appearance in The Mandalorian.

His fate was left ambiguous at the end of Star Wars Rebels and it was tied directly into Ezra's, so bringing him back could prove to be easier said than done. However, assuming he found his way back to the Empire at some point, there's no reason to believe he couldn't now be among those looking to gain power in a Galaxy where the Emperor has fallen.

Then again, it's also possible that he's spent years trapped in the Outer Rim, and coincidentally on the same planet that this upcoming TV series takes place on.

Boba Fett

It's been made clear that The Mandalorian is about Pedro Pascal's character and not Boba Fett, but c'mon, there's no denying that seeing the fan-favorite bounty hunter make his long overdue return would be amazing!

Speculation has been running rampant for years that he somehow survived the events of Return of the Jedi, and even just a throwaway mention would be fun - especially if it opens the door to the possibility that he did indeed escape the Sarlaac Pit and is now thought to be roaming the Galaxy seeking vengeance on those who wronged him.

On the other hand, making him the surprise big bad of this series and continuing the story would be something really special...

Han Solo

The future of Alden Ehrenreich's Han Solo remains very much up in the air since Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed at the worldwide box office, and while he played a younger version of Harrison Ford's smuggler in that movie, couldn't he be aged up slightly for a brief appearance in this Disney+ series?

Not everyone would be on board with that, of course, but it would be fun finding out what Han was up to during the aftermath of the Death Star II's destruction, especially if that then tied into the current trilogy in some way.

The Mandalorian definitely shouldn't get too bogged down with focusing on a character like this, but it's entirely feasible that a character like the one this series is named after has crossed paths with a certain smuggler and his Wookie in the past. I's probably unlikely, but it would be a lot of fun.

Bossk

The Expanded Universe delved into what became of Bossk following the events of The Empire Strikes Back, but in the current canon stories, we don't really know what this bounty hunter got up to. He's a definite fan-favourite, though, and this show feels like the best possible place to reveal what befell this ridiculously popular background villain.

He doesn't exactly need to be a recurring presence in this first season, but how cool would it be if we spent an episode watching him and the show's titular Mandalorian compete over a bounty?

Kes Dameron And Shara Bey

Introduced in a comic book series, the parents of Poe Dameron settled on Yavin IV and lived a mostly very happy life after the Empire was defeated over Endor. However, one or both of them showing up on the Mandalorian's planet (on one last secret mission for the Rebellion, perhaps?) would be very cool, and links this series to the wider Star Wars Universe.

A cameo like this isn't exactly essential, but Kes Dameron and Shara Bey are two genuinely interesting characters and could make a one-off appearance similar to how big names would frequently pop up in Star Wars Rebels. It would also be nice to learn more about where Poe came from and the role his mother and father played in the formation of the Resistance.

Captain Rex

Common sense says that Captain Rex would probably be dead by the time this series takes place, but he's not that old, and who knows how strong the Clone Army's genes were?

Throw in the popular fan theory that he was present for that battle on Endor, and it wouldn't be that hard to believe Rex could have found his way to the Outer Rim to escape from the war he'd spent decades fighting only to find himself caught in the middle of a very different battle.

Only hardcore fans would appreciate this cameo for the most part, but something tells us that Dave Filoni might not be able to resist revisiting this animated fan-favourite character.

Darth Krayt

We don't really need the story of the Jedi and Sith finding its way into this series, but Darth Krayt is a character who could easily be re-invented and we know that Supreme Leader Snoke had access to the Force without actually being a Sith.

Krayt served as a Jedi in the Clone Wars, became a bounty hunter after Order 66 was enacted, and then eventually turned to the Dark Side. His distinctive spiked armour makes him even more powerful and seeing the Mandalorian come up against this guy as he attempts to take control of the Outer Rim on Palpatine's remaining forces could be truly epic.

Again, though, fans would just have to accept that he would be changed a lot on screen.

Triple 0 And BT-1

If the focus of The Mandalorian is going to be on bounty hunters, then why not make use of Doctor Aphra's murderous droids?

Clearly meant to be a dark take on C-3PO and R2-D2, these two unhinged killers love carnage and destruction, and assuming they were separated from their master at some point over the years, them now competing with someone like the Mandalorian for a job makes sense.

An episode revolving around these two clashing with Pedro Pascal's character has loads of potential, and would be satisfying to fans hoping to see the movies and TV shows pay attention to the comics.

Continue reading below for some recently revealed new details
about The Mandalorian courtesy of Entertainment Weekly!

The Show Will Deal With The Rise Of The First Order

We know that The Mandalorian is set after the events of Return of the Jedi, but there's also a lot we don't know about what happened during the thirty years between that movie and The Force Awakens. However, it's now been confirmed that the Disney+ series will delve into how the fall of the Empire led to the rise of The First Order.

"This doesn’t turn into a good guy universe because you blew up two Death Stars," director Dave Filoni says, confirming that the Galaxy isn't at peace quite yet. "You get that the Rebels won and they’re trying to establish a Republic, but there’s no way that could have set in for everybody all at once. You have in a Western where you’re out on the frontier and there might be Washington and they might have some marshals, but sometimes good luck finding one."

Showrunner Jon Favreau adds: "Also, what could happen in the 30 years between celebrating the defeat of the Empire and then the First Order? You come in on Episode VII, [the First Order are] not just starting out. They’re pretty far along. So somehow, things weren’t necessarily managed as well as they could have been if [the galaxy] ended up in hot water again like that."

How The Mandalorian Differs To Boba Fett

The Mandalorian might look like Boba Fett, but it sounds like the similarities end there. For starters, he's actually a Mandalorian (Fett just wears the armor), which means the show will "definitely explore the culture of the Mandalorian" according to Favreau. "Our guy is operating in a much more unforgiving landscape."

"A place where survival is difficult enough," he continues, "let alone flourishing in that atmosphere and the politics have dissolved. It’s ‘might is right.’ And how does somebody earn a living when there’s no structure to society anymore and everything is collapsing in on itself? How do you work your way through the world?"

Star Pedro Pascal, meanwhile, says that he's also more of an anti-hero than a villain (a role Fett definitely played well). "Ultimately he wants to do the right thing" the actor says. "But his duties could very much be in conflict with his destiny and doing the right thing has many faces. It can be a very windy road."

Don't Expect To See Any Legacy Characters...Yet

The Mandalorian will allude to the history of the Star Wars Universe and fill in some gaps in the franchise's history but it won't necessarily serve as a continuation to the original trilogy or a prequel to the new ones. That means no Legacy characters (in the first season, at least...) as Favreau instead wants to deliver a "boots on the ground" tale exploring something we've not seen before.

"I’ve always been curious what the other people in the cantina are up to," he explains. "We’re digging really deep in the toy chest and pulling out the action figures that people were always curious about and were not quite in the center frame, but have a lot of potential."

Filoni adds: "These are the [action figures] you got. Your older brothers have had ‘good’ ones. Somehow you got Boba Fett. And if you have Boba Fett, you could always tell a good story."

The Mandalorian Will Be Keeping His Helmet On

Pascal's star is very much on the rise, but that doesn't mean he'll be showing off his face every chance he gets. However, Favreau's experience working on a character like Iron Man helped a lot and thanks to the actor's impressive line delivery and physicality along with some clever camera tricks and editing, he's reportedly found a way to ensure this masked man has a lot of personality.

"What’s remarkable is when you see the whole stretch of the first season how engaging the character is," the showrunner explains. "It’s amazing how many Star Wars characters are emotionally engaging that aren’t even anthropomorphic. R2-D2 is my favorite character and he barely has an eye." This definitely sounds like the right approach and is a bold move on the show's part.

Taika Waititi's IG-11 (Korg 2.0?)

Taikia Waititi is set to take on the role of IG-11, an assassin droid who looks nearly identical to classic bounty hunter IG-88. However, their personalities will be very different and it sounds like this supporting character won't be all that different to the loveable Korg, another CGI creation voiced by the actor and filmmaker (who actually helms the premiere episode of this Star Wars TV series).

"[IG-11 is] very innocent and naive and direct and doesn’t know about sarcasm and doesn’t know how to lie," Waititi says, likening the droid to a cross between Siri and HAL 9000. "It’s like a child with a gun."

So, he's not exactly a badass, but Gina Carano's Cara Dune is. She's a former Rebel Shock Trooper turned mercenary who works alongside Greef Carga (Carl Weathers), the leader of a guild of bounty hunters."In Star Wars, you find yourself walking a different way, you behave differently, you relate to what’s around you differently, because it’s not a contemporary world," he says.

Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon

One of the most exciting additions to the series is Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito. His role has been something of a mystery up until now, but Entertainment Weekly reveals that he'll play Moff Gideon, a one-time Governor for the Galactic Empire whose world was destroyed when the Rebels blew up the second Death Star and finally brought an end to The Emperor's rule over the Galaxy.

"He’s an Imperial remnant of a very fine officer who then switches to become sort of the guardian of the people," says Esposito, who also talked about having a geek out moment when he was able to climb aboard a TIE Fighter for the first time in the series. "But what does [Moff Gideon] really want? This guy is going to be a big player because he has an idea of how to keep order."

Does that mean he's a hero or villain? It sounds like we'll have to just wait and see for now.

The Show Will Deliver Some Big Surprises

The first trailer for The Mandalorian definitely impressed and with the magazine claiming that the show had a budget of around $100 million for all eight episodes, it's clear that Disney wants to deliver something that makes Star Wars fans very happy indeed.

"I’ve seen a lot of Star Wars," Filoni, a man extremely well-versed in this Galaxy after working on everything from The Clone Wars to Rebels, says. "And what’s most exciting to me is that I am very confident we did some things — and fans will see things — that have never been seen before."

In other words, this will definitely be worth a watch and it hasn't just been made for the sake of it!

Lucasfilm Exec Reveals Why George Lucas Has Called OBI-WAN KENOBI One Of His Favorite Things From Disney Era

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15 Comments

Spidey91 - 9/27/2019, 3:47 PM

obligatory

Nightwing1015 - 9/27/2019, 3:52 PM

Wait it's gonna be 1 director for all episodes? Seems reasonable.

HeavyMetal4Life - 9/27/2019, 3:59 PM

TheUnworthyThor - 9/27/2019, 4:06 PM

Yes more Star Wars...

She’s done great work, they most have a lot of confidence in her, awesome news.

NinnesMBC - 9/27/2019, 10:00 PM

Things seem to be moving quite smooth on the Star Wars TV front, that is good to see. 👌

zodstein - 9/28/2019, 8:50 AM

@NinnesMBC - I'm so excited for the TV shows. I'm actually getting a bit excited for ROS, I just wish JJ did all 3 so he could pay off all the things he set up which I thought were great.