After Ewan McGregor Claimed ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Series Was Supposed To Be About Kenobi And Luke, Director Deborah Chow Now Says Kenobi Rescuing Leia Was Developed Before She Joined The Show

John F. Trent |

Aug 18, 2023

Obi-Wan Kenobi director Deborah Chow recently claimed that the main plot of the Disney+ series featuring Kenobi rescuing a kidnapped Leia had already been developed at Lucasfilm before she even boarded the show.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter’s Brian Davids about the Star Wars Series, Chow was asked, “The greatest example of there being more to Obi-Wan’s story is the involvement of 10-year-old Leia Organa (played by Vivien Lyra Blair) in this series. How did this big swing happen?”

Chow responded, “Before I came onto the project, it was something that they had already developed. There was a lot of discussion about it, and we didn’t know how the fan base would react and if they’d say that we were breaking canon.”

“It’s tricky, because, on some level, everything could be perceived as breaking canon, but you have to take some swings. There was also nothing that said they hadn’t met before. So we did obviously take some license, but we tried to hook it back into A New Hope to at least connect the two,” she concluded.

Interestingly, Ewan McGregor revealed at FAN EXPO Boston last August that Lucasfilm’s original idea for the series was “going to be a story about [Obi-Wan Kenobi] and Luke.”

He elaborated, “It was always going to be that, and that was one of the genius moments where everyone went, ‘Wait a minute,’ and then changed it.”

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series was mired in production hell after it was officially confirmed by Kathleen Kennedy during the D23 Expo 2019.

In that initial announcement Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy stated, “We are really close. We have all the scripts written. We are ready to start shooting next year. We could not be more excited. Can’t wait to start production.”

Chow was announced as the series’ director a month later in September 2019 with the official Star Wars website noting, “Deborah Chow has been tapped to direct the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series that is exclusively for Disney+. Ewan McGregor will be reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi for the series, which takes place eight years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.”

Kennedy stated as part of the post, “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. Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters in The Mandalorian, I’m absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story.”

However, about five months after that announcement it was reported that the cast and crew for the series were sent home from the set. Collider reported, “the Obi-Wan series has been put on hold, as the crew that had assembled at Pinewood Studios was sent home.”

Collider’s initial report was then corroborated by The Hollywood Reporter (THR). However, the outlet added that the scripts for the series were not actually written and Lucasfilm planned to rewrite the entire series.

(L-R): Princess Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) holding L0-LA59 (Lola) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

THR claimed, “Sources tell THR that the scripts — only two were written — and story became an issue and that the entire package has been jettisoned.”

“Lucasfilm is now on the hunt for a new writer to pen the series. At the same time, sources say the project is being reconfigured from six episodes to four,” their report added. Obi-Wan Kenobi would eventually remain a six episode mini series.

Interestingly, the THR report also noted the reason the script needed a rewrite was because it was believed to be too similar to The Mandalorian with Obi-Wan Kenobi taking a young Luke Skywalker and possibly a young Leia under his wing in a fashion similar to how Din Djarin took Grogu as his ward.

McGregor responded telling IGN, “It’s just slid to next year, that’s all. The scripts were really good. 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.”

He added, “I’ve read about eighty, ninety percent of what they’ve written so far, and it’s really, really good. Instead of shooting this August, they just want to start shooting in January, that’s all. Nothing more dramatic than that. It often happens in projects, they just wanted to push it to next year.”

McGregor did note that the unannounced release date remains unchanged, “It will have the same release date, I don’t think it will affect the release date. They’re still shooting towards having the film [show] release when it was going to be originally.”

As viewers of the series would eventually find out the scripts were crap and the entire series was mediocre at best. Even Leia actress Vivien Lyra Blair questioned the poor scripts during the Obi-Wan Kenobi panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 ini April

She said, “I remember the scene where I was in the the coat. I was inside the Imperial officer’s coat and I kept poking my head out to look around at the set and he kept trying to push me back in, and it was really funny.”

“I kept just saying, ‘How is anyone believing that this random lump inside this guy’s coat is just normal? How is this happening?’ But it was a lot of fun,” she added.

What do you make of Chow’s comments that Lucasfilm had already developed the entire Princess Leia storyline featured in Obi-Wan Kenobi before she joined the project?

NEXT: ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Director Deborah Chow Says Her Advice For Future Star Wars Directors Is “To Not Get Hung Up On The Star Wars Of It All”

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