After years of speculation and rumors, last night it was finally confirmed that Ewan McGregor will be returning to the Star Wars franchise to reprise the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. An Obi-Wan spinoff of some description has been in the works for a long time, and as recently as last year, Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry was developing the project as one of the Anthology movies, before the failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story forced Disney and Lucasfilm to rethink their big screen strategy.
The announcement also revealed that the Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff will be a limited series exclusive to Disney Plus, marking the third Star Wars show headed to the upcoming streaming platform after Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and the currently-untitled Rogue One prequel following Cassian Andor. With the studio hosting their D23 Expo next weekend, it seems likely that we’ll get plenty of new information about the show, and McGregor may even appear in person.
Until then, though, fans have been posting their own reactions to the news on social media, and you can check out some of the best below:
— R33D (@iReedifer) August 16, 2019
Ewan McGregor is back as Obi-Wan?! 😮😍 pic.twitter.com/FhJAUW3Euw
— Connor Cronus (@ConnorCronus) August 15, 2019
https://twitter.com/girlgeeking/status/1162167226419601408
https://twitter.com/JosephGNevin/status/1162362760426139648
Why isn't #EwanMcGregor or #Kenobi or #ObiWan the number 1 trend right now? @starwars @Disney
— Jacob Kersey (@realjacobkersey) August 16, 2019
🚨🚨EWAN MCGREGOR IS RETURNING TO PLAY OBI WAN FOR A NEW DISNEY+ SHOW!!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! 🚨🚨#StarWars https://t.co/WYazfREA6x
— Brian (@bschicks) August 16, 2019
Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan can force choke me https://t.co/xgCmdXBHQz
— Sloppy Otter (@zvenya_) August 16, 2019
LETS GOOOOOOO !!!!!
— Dante (@byJamz_) August 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/cityofthefeels/status/1162043069979648000
https://twitter.com/DrWarioMD/status/1162166950962900992
Disney are already creating a massive amount of exciting new content for their soon-to-debut service at great expense, and an Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series will result in both excitement in the fan community and generate huge buzz as a reason for people to subscribe to Disney Plus. The cast, crew and budget behind The Mandalorian has shown that the Mouse House aren’t afraid to throw their considerable weight behind a small screen Star Wars project, and Obi-Wan will be a similarly high priority.
Despite the criticism aimed in the general direction of George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels, McGregor’s version of Obi-Wan Kenobi has always remained something of a fan-favorite, and the actor himself hasn’t been shy in saying in interviews over the years that he would welcome the chance to play the character again. Now, the 48 year-old has finally gotten his wish, and may have found the best platform on which to do it.