Oscar-nominated filmmaker Stephen Daldry is in early talks for the film, which would center on the Jedi master who has been played by both Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor.
Stephen Daldry is Star Wars’ newest hope.
The Oscar-nominated director behind Billy Elliot and The Hours is in early talks to direct a Star Wars stand-alone movie centering on Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Sources say talks are at the earliest of stages and that the project has no script. If a deal makes, Daldry would oversee the development and writing with Lucasfilm brass. It's not known at this stage if Ewan McGregor will reprise his role. The Obi-Wan Kenobi stand-alone is one of several projects being developed by Lucasfilm and Disney that fall outside the trilogies telling the saga of the Skywalker family. A Han Solo movie is now in the final stages of shooting under new director Ron Howard and Lucasfilm is also looking at movies featuring Yoda and bounty hunter Boba Fett, among others.
In the original Star Wars trilogy, Kenobi was at first a desert-dwelling and war-weary hermit who later proved to be a wise and powerful warrior, brandishing a light saber. He was briefly a mentor to a young Luke before being cut down by Darth Vader, his former pupil. Alec Guinness played Kenobi, garnering him an Oscar nomination to boot. The character got star treatment in the George Lucas-directed prequels which told the origin of Vader and his betrayal of Kenobi and the Jedis. McGregor has said he would be open to playing the character again. Sources stress, however, that since there is no script, no actor is attached.
“Rogue One” was the first of the standalones, and Disney is currently shooting an untitled origin tale of beloved smuggler Han Solo. Some of the other standalones in development include a Jabba the Hutt story and a Boba Fett movie.
Daldry hails from the theater world and made his feature debut with Billy Elliot, which netted him his first directing Oscar nomination. He followed that up with searing dramas The Hours and The Reader, which also netted him directing nominations.
He most recently directed episodes of Netflix’s period drama The Crown, which put him into play in this Emmy season.
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
Anything before the sale to Disney is no longer canon. So every game, novel or comic produced before 2012 no longer exists in the Star Wars galaxy.
What is your point? I never said I wanted them to make a movie about a story that already exists in a novel or video game. They have free reign to tell any story they want. They don't even have to worry about keeping anything consistent with all of those novels and comics and games, because they aren't canon.
They have a wonderful universe to explore and tell any story they want. And they keep telling the same story. Shit, the Force Awakens was almost an exact duplicate of A New Hope with a bigger Death Star, cantina scene and all. [Reply]
Obi-Wan: A Star Wars Story the working title is Joshua Tree
Today, we at Omega Underground have uncovered the production title for the upcoming Star Wars anthology film featured around Obi-Wan Kenobi. According to a recent listing for Obi-Wan: A Star Wars Story the working title is Joshua Tree. Other recent working titles for Star Wars productions include Space Bears for The Last Jedi and Red Cup for Han Solo (we confirmed back in December).
Why is this working title important?
Joshua Tree (aka desert yucca palm tree) could be hinting to Joshua Tree Nation Park in Southern California (along with other parks) as a possible shooting location for the new anthology film. The original Star Wars shot some Tatooine scenes at Death Valley National Park and surrounding locations. The location tease supports fan speculation that the Kenobi film will indeed take place on Tatooine.
DEATH VALLEY
Located primarily in the Southern California Desert with a small portion extending into Nevada, Death Valley National Park covers 3.4 million acres (14,000 km), making it the largest park in the lower 48 states. Within this acreage is an almost complete spectrum of the Earth’s geological eras that are well worth a visit beyond the shooting locations. In January 1977, George Lucas took a second-unit team to Death Valley to film some leftover pick-up shots that weren’t filmed in Tunisia due to difficulties they had encountered there. The StarWars website also references U2’s Joshua Tree to Death Valley’s Zabriskie Point, one of the locations for A New Hope.
Zabriskie Point, a famous viewpoint just east of Furnace Creek. Come at dawn for the best lightning of these badlands. Zabriskie Point can also been seen on U2’s Joshua Tree album cover. California has recently made it attractive and cost-effective for big studios films to return to the state with new incentives. This has led to films like Paramount’s Bumblebee and Marvel’s Captain Marvel moving their productions to California. It’s possible that the legacy of original saga shoots and these new incentives might bring Star Wars back to California.
Kenobi was first introduced to us on Tatooine and has spent a lengthy stint on the desert planet between Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope, as a Galactic fugitive expected to be shot on sight if discovered to be a Jedi by Imperial forces. While I’m game for a return to Tatooine, it would be nice to see them travel to a couple other planets just for variety’s sake as well. Officially it’s unknown if Ewan McGregor will return as Obi-Wan but unofficially he has stated multiple times he’s game. It’ll be interesting to see how Lucasfilm tackles this Ben Kenobi period, a lot of this has already been covered by novels and comics, not unlike Han Solo.
As with all Star Wars productions, it’s expected that Kenobi will first shoot at Shepperton Studios in the UK before moving on to location shoots. Star Wars: Episode 9 is set to begin filming this January according to Kathleen Kennedy and our assumption is that Kenobi (if it’s next up) could begin filming around January-February of 2019. Nobody has been officially named as director or screenwriter. However, it was revealed by THR that Stephen Daldry could direct and months back we were hearing rumors that Mr. Robot’s Sam Esmail could possibly write it.
Lucasfilm has yet to announce the Kenobi project officially. Obi-Wan: A Star Wars Story has no set release date but is expected to be released in 2020. [Reply]
While I don't agree that only brand new characters are worthy of a new Star Wars film, I do agree that I am sick of the Skywalker storyline. If the new film is Kenobi spending 20 years on Tatooine protecting Luke I'm out. If the film ends with him landing on Tatooine, I'm OK with it. Or maybe starts with him dropping off Luke before heading out into the unknown. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Ugh, I hope not. Enough with Tatooine.
While I don't agree that only brand new characters are worthy of a new Star Wars film, I do agree that I am sick of the Skywalker storyline. If the new film is Kenobi spending 20 years on Tatooine protecting Luke I'm out. If the film ends with him landing on Tatooine, I'm OK with it. Or maybe starts with him dropping off Luke before heading out into the unknown.
While I don't disagree, there's no doubt that Tatooine will play a role in the film, as Obi Wan is watching over Luke.
I'd like to see him sent on a mission by the Rebel Alliance, Yoda or Bail Organa.
I can't remember if I mentioned it or not but Joel Edgerton wants to return as Owen, which would keep continuity. [Reply]
I'd rather see them go a little further afield. Like a rogue hero obsessed with his own failures wandering the galaxy helping the people who's lives are being ruined by the war. Maybe depressed, harboring a death wish until someone or something helps him come to grips with his failure to protect Satine or keep Anakin from turning. Then he can resign himself to returning to Tatooine and watching over Luke. Maybe too dark for Disney though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
I'd rather see them go a little further afield. Like a rogue hero obsessed with his own failures wandering the galaxy helping the people who's lives are being ruined by the war. Maybe depressed, harboring a death wish until someone or something helps him come to grips with his failure to protect Satine or keep Anakin from turning. Then he can resign himself to returning to Tatooine and watching over Luke. Maybe too dark for Disney though.
I think Rogue One has proven that Disney is not afraid of going dark if that is what is best for the story. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
I'd rather see them go a little further afield. Like a rogue hero obsessed with his own failures wandering the galaxy helping the people who's lives are being ruined by the war. Maybe depressed, harboring a death wish until someone or something helps him come to grips with his failure to protect Satine or keep Anakin from turning. Then he can resign himself to returning to Tatooine and watching over Luke. Maybe too dark for Disney though.
That might be a little too dark but it would be cool to see the Obi Wan from Dex's Diner and the Obi Wan that fought Jango Fett on Kamino - the confident swashbuckler.
I think it would be cool to see him visit Jedha before its destruction in Rogue One and maybe even enlist Saw Guerrera's help. Obi Wan was also a pretty damn good fighter pilot (even though he hated flying) and was a quick wit.
I think it would be best set just a few years after he drops off Luke rather than 10-15 years later. There's so much to explore... [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
I think Rogue One has proven that Disney is not afraid of going dark if that is what is best for the story.
Yeah but they were boxed in with Rogue One.
None of the heroes were seen nor heard of in the OT and had they lived, it would have created issues with continuity. Lingering questions as to what happened to the survivors after the Death Star plans were stolen and was subsequently destroyed would cloud the outcome as well.
There's none of those types of limitations with Obi Wan, other than knowing his fate against Darth Vader, a fate he chose for himself. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
That might be a little too dark but it would be cool to see the Obi Wan from Dex's Diner and the Obi Wan that fought Jango Fett on Kamino - the confident swashbuckler.
I think it would be cool to see him visit Jedha before its destruction in Rogue One and maybe even enlist Saw Guerrera's help. Obi Wan was also a pretty damn good fighter pilot (even though he hated flying) and was a quick wit.
I think it would be best set just a few years after he drops off Luke rather than 10-15 years later. There's so much to explore...
Agreed. There are so many possibilities for character stories here. I mean, the burden of knowing that you're responsible for the creation of Darth Vader? Witnessing the woman you love slaughtered in front of you? All the places he'd been and people he knew as Jedi before the fall? This is there chance to satisfy people wanting something new and those needing something to tie back the main story. [Reply]
Originally Posted by unlurking:
Agreed. There are so many possibilities for character stories here. I mean, the burden of knowing that you're responsible for the creation of Darth Vader? Witnessing the woman you love slaughtered in front of you? All the places he'd been and people he knew as Jedi before the fall? This is there chance to satisfy people wanting something new and those needing something to tie back the main story.
An Ezra and Kanan side story could be included also [Reply]
Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy:
I think Rogue One has proven that Disney is not afraid of going dark if that is what is best for the story.
And while that was a dark ending, I was more alluding to a darkness of character that I don't think Disney would be too interested in. A Jedi coming to grips with the fact that he's responsible for the death of millions of innocents? That could lead to some seriously dark scenes. [Reply]
