Ok. Now I’m concerned. When Disney announced plans back in 2015 to release at least one Star Wars film every year until we’re all dead, I remember being uneasy but thinking, if the the model utilized by the MCU comes into play here, this could work … maybe. Soon after came the announcement of “Anthology films,” the idea being films that take place in The Star Wars universe but had little or nothing to do with the main saga. I remember thinking “Yes! This could definitely work!”
Part of the appeal of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, is how big it feels. You get the sense that its story about Jedi, smugglers, and rebels is only a tiny piece of a boundless universe. Kathleen Kennedy seems to disagree as evidenced by the fact that every “anthology film” announced and made thus far has been a prequel that directly relates to the main saga and is chock full of the same shit we've been seeing for over forty years now. Tie Fighters, AT-AT’s, Han Solo, they even dug up Peter Cushing’s fucking corpse to be in one of these memory parades. And now Disney just confirmed that the next anthology film after the one about baby Han Solo, is gonna be one about … Obi-Wan Kenobi. Well, shit. This one in particular spells disaster for the preservation of this franchise.
I love Obi-Wan Kenobi. Who doesn’t? Except maybe liver cancer (RIP Alec). But is there a more perfectly cooked arc in the Star Wars universe? Young tight ass Jedi is thrust into ensuring the “chosen one” brings balance to the force after his hippie Jedi master gets sliced in half by space satan, only to totally drop the ball and thus have a hand in creating space Hitler, forcing him to go into exile but not before finally avenging his hippie master, who teaches him how to become a fucking ghost. DONE! Not quite! There’s still more toys to sell … I mean, story to tell.
What has Obi-Wan been doing all that time in exile? Was he dating? Ooooh, Obi-Wan Kenobi: This Is Not The Love You’re Looking For, a standalone film. We could throw Jennifer Lawrence in there as a Twi'lek that just can’t seem to balance working on a pleasure skiff and her love life. Oh, what about a musical? Maybe he took up the bass vye? Became a regular at the local cantina. Obi-Wan Kenobi: I Gotta Jazz Feeling About This. Or maybe he explored his sexuality? That’s topical. Obi-Wan Kenobi: Dewback Mountain.
Look, I’m stoked to see Ewan McGregor return as Obi-Wan in one form or another. If it has to be by way of feature length film so be it, but I really think having it take place after Revenge Of The Sith is a bad idea. I find Obi-Wan’s exile to be so compelling. The idea of this Jedi master being so overwhelmed by guilt that he spends 19 years in solitude on a desolate desert planet adds a lot to his mythology. There are plenty of adventures Obi-Wan can get into pre-Sith, or pre-Clones even, though I’d be lying if I said I had any interest in seeing a stand alone Obi-Wan Kenobi movie at all. Do you? Isn’t it a little early to be grasping for straws? The first anthology film was about a throwaway line from the original trilogy, the next one is about young Han Solo and now Obi-Wan Kenobi? Who’s next? Salacious B. Crumb? Star Wars takes place in SPACE, so why are we seeing the same five people?
