The Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming to Disney Plus just got a new writer, according to a report. Variety says that Joby Harold, writer of the upcoming Zack Snyder Netflix film Army of the Dead and executive producer on Edge of Tomorrow, is now writing the series. He apparently replaces the show's previous writer, Hossein Amini, best known for the 2012 cult favorite Drive.
Back in January, it was reported that filming on the Obi-Wan series was delayed, with the show moving its proposed start date from August 2020 to January 2021. Deborah Chow, who directed the excellent third episode of The Mandalorian where Mando kills a bunch of stormtroopers to save Baby Yoda, is down to direct the series.
All of this makes the release date of the series feel very far away, but depending on how long the global health crisis goes on for, it's possible that filming in August would've been impossible anyway. Numerous Marvel shows, including Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, have put production on hold as a result of the coronavirus.
Actor Ewan McGregor, who reprises his role as the Jedi master, discussed the status of the show back in January. "The scripts were really good," the actor told IGN. "I think now that Episode IX came out and everyone at Lucasfilm's got more time to spend on the writing, they felt like they wanted more time to spend on the writing.
"Instead of shooting this August, they just want to start shooting in January, that's all. Nothing more dramatic than that."
Variety says Amini left the project in January.
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Waiting for Obi-Wan
The Obi-Wan series reportedly started as a movie project back in 2017, with Stephen Daldry set to direct it, according to Deadline. Along with a rumored Boba Fett movie directed by Logan's James Mangold and a movie about Yoda, Lucasfilm seemed to stop pursuing Rogue One-style prequel movies after the box office failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
On the surface, it doesn't feel like there's a story to be told with Obi-Wan Kenobi after Revenge of the Sith, when he goes to watch over Luke on Tatooine.
But hey, it's Star Wars. They'll make something up. In January, Making Star Wars reported that the show could feature the return of Jar Jar Binks... with a beard.
