“Obi-Wan Kenobi”, from movie to series: the solution is deeper than it seems

premiere Obi-Wan KenobiThe long-awaited series chronicling the lost years of a Jedi Master between trilogies is now available with first episodes on Disney Plus.

Ewan McGregor returns in a production that has tied the news for years; positive and negative, and that now we can finally begin to enjoy. However, it is known that the story of Kenobi was originally going to be a movie.

Why was the format and screen changed? The good results for Disney Plus seem obvious. Strengthening the platform and its subscriptions in an uncertain environment for theatrical release seemed like a logical decision for Disney… Although there is always a loss of box office potential.

But unlike Marvel, the Star Wars universe seems to have delayed its return to the big screen for a long time, as many films have been canceled or are rumored to be canceled – Rian Johnson’s proposed trilogy. Rogue Squadron, a Patty Jenkins cassette… – and only the idea of ​​a vague Taika Waititi film resists. Or at least without rumors and news to the contrary.

On the other hand, his commitment to the series has doubled, with several promising premieres on Disney Plus between now and 2024.

Kenobi, the movie that was supposed to come out… in 2013

Development of the Kenobi project, as it was originally called, began in early 2013.when Disney, after acquiring Lucasfilm, sought to create a series of films based on the main franchise. Other projects that were put into development were the Boba Fett movie and the released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Stories D Solo: A Star Wars Storythe latter is a notorious disaster that cast doubt on other plans due to a box office failure.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly about the new series Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, reflected on the development of Obi-Wan Kenobi. When asked about the move from film to television series, the studio head cited former Disney CEO Bob Iger’s desire to infiltrate the world. streaming wars for example, the decision that caused him to change his strategy for Star Wars anthology stories. These were his statements:

“When Bob Iger specifically said, ‘We’re going to shift our priority to making shows for Disney Plus and we’re going to launch a streaming service,’ it really changed our strategy. We started to see an opportunity in the streaming space where we could tell long stories, and we realized there was an opportunity to experiment in that space without the level of validation that comes with releasing a feature film.”

Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm

Under the rule of the Empire, Obi-Wan Kenobi is on an important mission.

Watch Obi Wan on Disney+

Now available on Disney+

This change in Lucasfilm’s strategy began with success The Mandalorian, whose critical acclaim seems to have helped solidify Disney and Lucasfilm’s confidence in moving away from the big screen to more episodic storytelling. Hence the current calendar with spin-offs The Mandalorianincluding the recently completed boba fett bookthis one with the worst reviews, and the following Ahsoka, Andor, Acolyte D Landau.

Star Wars: more and more serial franchise

As Kennedy points out in his analysis of why Obi-Wan Kenobi went from movie to TV series: the level of scrutiny aimed at projects for small screens is not as high as for feature films.. And possibly a disaster Only at the box office and with critics and the constant controversy surrounding the latest trilogy.

the last jedi D rise of skywalker they disliked critics and confused fans with their constant spins and returns to the starting line. wherever you look they weren’t round films and brought Disney problems with legacy production.. What about anthology films? Solo: Historyyoustar wars historyalso left too many open wounds.

maybe Onlyin 2018 it would be Only (sorry for the redundancy) series, expectations would have been lowered.

This hypothesis works in the opposite direction. Let’s imagine The Mandalorian in theaters: Would Baby Yoda be the new Jar Jar Binks phenomenon? This is where the medium can make a big difference because streaming opens up a much wider audience and dampens criticism from outside. fandom the most devoted, the one that goes to the first screenings and reveals the first critics.

Movies tend to be major cultural events, which means, at the very least, meeting a record and surpassing the previous one. On a show, this introduction could be more relaxed and have more visible budgets that can be concentrated in a single season without risking the franchise’s entire future.. Even such important moments as the season finale in The Mandalorian, with Luke Skywalker cameos could be better because they were completely unexpected. Something that the last trilogy, so predictable, did not have at all.

This idea is not new. Animated series about star WarsWhich clone warswere successful because the stakes were lower, both in terms of the plot and the culture surrounding the saga. visions he also managed to create a valid product without breaking anything.

In fact, the original version of George Lucas already divided his films into Episodes. Now maybe it’s time to get used to it allwithout a start A very, very long time ago… means a direct continuation of the previous chapter.