Obi-Wan Kenobi first fell on the Death Star. He may have just fallen again in a corporate boardroom.
In perhaps the most disappointing behind the scenes story to come out of Lucasfilm in recent memory, Collider reports the company has put the current version of the highly anticipated Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi show on hold. It’s not dead—but according to the report, people working on the show at Pinewood Studios in England have been sent home with no word on when they’ll be back. The delay is “indefinite,” at the moment.
A source close to the situation told io9 that the show is still in development for Disney+, which neither totally confirms nor denies Collider’s report. Other sources confirmed to io9 that Collider’s version of the story is accurate.
The reason for the potential delay is that the show’s scripts simply aren’t ready. And, instead of moving ahead with something that’s not as good as it could be, the company decided to go back to the drawing board.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter only two scripts were written of a planned six, possibly telling a story of Obi-Wan watching over a young Luke and maybe even Leia. However, that was apparently considered a little too close to the story of The Mandalorian and has now been scrapped. Lucasfilm is reportedly now out to new writers to write a four-episode arc, which still includes star Ewan McGregor and director Deborah Chow.
This is the first misstep on a Disney+ Star Wars show but it’s far from the first for the brand itself. On the film side, several filmmakers have come and gone from the franchise, including Josh Trank, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Colin Trevorrow, and, most recently, Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
But Obi-Wan Kenobi? This seemed to be the one story everyone could agree on. For years fans have clamored to see Ewan McGregor come back to play the reclusive Jedi Master, and he appeared on stage at D23 last year to officially confirm his return alongside Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. After seeing Chow’s incredibly impressive work on The Mandalorian, we were more than excited to see what she’d bring to the table as showrunner on the Oi-Wan series. Hopefully, we will still get a chance.
This story has been updated with new details from The Hollywood Reporter.
For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @io9dotcom.