Kathleen Kennedy Strikes Again! Obi-wan Series put on Hold

[Tribal Warfare]

Exclusive: The #ObiWan Disney+ series has been put on hold as the crew have been sent home.

More details: https://t.co/r52mbz6J7C

— Collider (@Collider) January 23, 2020

[notorious]

Good lord. How can a company **** up something this bad?

[Sassy Squatch]

Fire Kennedy. Immediately. Been almost nothing but continuous ****ups ever since Disney acquired Star Wars.

TFA - Major rewrites/various production issues.

Rogue One - Original director sidelined during major reshoots.

TLJ - No production issues.

Solo - Original directors fired and film was completely reshot.

TRoS - Original writer/director fired.

The Mandalorian - No production issues.

Josh Trank - Fired.

D&D - Fired.

James Mangold Boba Fett - Cancelled before preproduction.

Obi-Wan - Major delays.

Hell, one of the two that actually went alright may have irreparably damaged the brand with some fans.

[Buehler445]

Cut the shit.

[mnchiefsguy]

Kennedy needs to ****ing be fired....

[rydogg58]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

Kennedy needs to ****ing be fired....

At this point, what does it matter anymore? I mean, the damage is done. I wonder what Disney has planned long-term for the Star Wars franchise as far as making it worthwhile again.

[CityOfKansas]

Honestly, I'm glad. I'm not concerned with what Obi-Wan was doing in the dessert.

[DaneMcCloud]

So, the word is that the reason the Obi Wan series has been delayed is that it's too close to Season 2 of The Mandalorian in terms of the overall story arc.

The Mandalorian has begun filming in Long Beach and as it usually happens, changes are made onset to the story or script because things often times play out different while in the filming process than they do at a Table Read. Since The Mando already has a huge audience, the right call was made to stop pre-production on Obi Wan, which basically consists of creating sets, before it was too late.

Now, one thing that hasn't been mentioned or discussed here is that while The Mandalorian has been a huge success in the US, Disney+ hasn't even launched in the UK, France, Germany and many other countries. So the decision was made to fully back The Mando and re-think the Obi Wan series.

This kind of stuff happens all the time but it's exacerbated by the worldwide phenomenon that is Star Wars. I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point in time and there's still a chance, albeit slight, that it debuts in 1Q2021.

Deborah Chow and Ewan McGregor are still attached so it's just a matter of cracking the nut and writing the scripts, which could happen quickly or not so quickly. And as much shit as she's taken over the years, I DO applaud KK for trying to get things "right", even though I've ultimately disagreed with some of her decisions.

Oh, and if you guys haven't seen the Pre Vis Art for the Colin Trevorrow Episode IX, don't search it. It'll just piss you off because it's really cool and would have likely provided a much better, although much different, end to the Skywalker Saga.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by CityOfKansas

Honestly, I'm glad. I'm not concerned with what Obi-Wan was doing in the dessert.

As we all know, he was lost in the flan.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by rydogg58

I wonder what Disney has planned long-term for the Star Wars franchise as far as making it worthwhile again.

Nothing is "planned" outside of The Mandalorian and The Rogue One Prequel Series.

There are two more series in development, outside of the Obi Wan series, which can also be described as "in development" since they're basically starting from scratch and taking new pitches.

It's the same process that's been going on for the past year with the movie side: They're looking for ideas, as they have none for any new property.

And from what I've been told (and I've mentioned it more than a few times in the past) but the Rian Johnson "trilogy" is dead in the water. He's not working on it and Lucasfilm isn't asking him for it.

[mnchiefsguy]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

So, the word is that the reason the Obi Wan series has been delayed is that it's too close to Season 2 of The Mandalorian in terms of the overall story arc.

The Mandalorian has begun filming in Long Beach and as it usually happens, changes are made onset to the story or script because things often times play out different while in the filming process than they do at a Table Read. Since The Mando already has a huge audience, the right call was made to stop pre-production on Obi Wan, which basically consists of creating sets, before it was too late.

Now, one thing that hasn't been mentioned or discussed here is that while The Mandalorian has been a huge success in the US, Disney+ hasn't even launched in the UK, France, Germany and many other countries. So the decision was made to fully back The Mando and re-think the Obi Wan series.

This kind of stuff happens all the time but it's exacerbated by the worldwide phenomenon that is Star Wars. I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point in time and there's still a chance, albeit slight, that it debuts in 1Q2021.

Deborah Chow and Ewan McGregor are still attached so it's just a matter of cracking the nut and writing the scripts, which could happen quickly or not so quickly. And as much shit as she's taken over the years, I DO applaud KK for trying to get things "right", even though I've ultimately disagreed with some of her decisions.

Oh, and if you guys haven't seen the Pre Vis Art for the Colin Trevorrow Episode IX, don't search it. It'll just piss you off because it's really cool and would have likely provided a much better, although much different, end to the Skywalker Saga.

Cool info. I still think Kennedy needs to go...replace her with John Faverau and give him the keys to Star Wars---Kevin Feige can mentor him in running a large cinematic/tv universe.

[Sure-Oz]

Episode count from 6 to 4 now? What's the point.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

Cool info. I still think Kennedy needs to go...replace her with John Faverau and give him the keys to Star Wars---Kevin Feige can mentor him in running a large cinematic/tv universe.

Jon Favreau doesn't want to run a studio, which is a completely different skillset than being a Creative.

KK just signed a 3 year extension as president of Lucasfilm but there's been some rumbling that she'll retire before the contract ends but it'll likely be after the TV series have officially launched.

Feige's got his hands full with the next several phases of Marvel films AND their TV division.

Again, most people outside of Hollywood would never hear about these kinds of issues, which happen every single day, if it wasn't for the fact that Star Wars is beloved worldwide.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Episode count from 6 to 4 now? What's the point.

It depends.

Amini penned six 30 minute episodes. So if they're requesting four 45 minutes episodes, they'll be producing approximately the same amount of screen time.

That said, I find it odd that there's been any limit set on the number of episodes they want for the Obi Wan series because, generally speaking, it's the story that determines how much time is necessary, not some arbitrary number.

[mnchiefsguy]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Jon Favreau doesn't want to run a studio, which is a completely different skillset than being a Creative.

KK just signed a 3 year extension as president of Lucasfilm but there's been some rumbling that she'll retire before the contract ends but it'll likely be after the TV series have officially launched.

Feige's got his hands full with the next several phases of Marvel films AND their TV division.

Again, most people outside of Hollywood would never hear about these kinds of issues, which happen every single day, if it wasn't for the fact that Star Wars is beloved worldwide.

Makes sense. Thanks for the insight.