Is there really anything more to say about Star Wars that hasn’t already been said? This is the most familiar and biggest franchise ever known to mankind. When it started, times were different, a film was a film where you waited for it to succeed and just then you started planning a sequel. Times have changed since and now you have to plot out sequels and spinoffs years upfront which is why we have this situation today. Apparently, there is a huge chance that Obi-Wan might get his own “Star Wars story” within Lucasfilm’s sprawling cinematic universe.
As we managed to find out, Stephen Daldry director of Billy Elliot and The Hours is apparently tied to a very early development stages of an Obi-Wan movie, and that is basically it. Nothing else is available so far, not even the info when the film will be released so everything past this part is a pure speculation and guesswork that comes from our creative and “investigative” team.
The time period
The most logical time frame to set the Obi-Wan story is just between Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope because that is the period that hides around 18 years of what Obi-Wan did. That is basically the time between Obi-Wan came to Tatooine with the infant Luke, and the time he appeared to rescue the grown up Mark Hamill version from Tuskan Raiders. After Disney bought Lucasfilm, last year we saw Obi-Wan appearing in Rebels in one scene that happened around a year or two before A New Hope, which makes this one another possible timeline. The last option is to make a movie about a young Obi-Wan which would be set sometime before The Phantom Menace or some sort of war period movie which would show Obi-Wan’s service in The Clone Wars.
Obi-Van Kenobi Solo Movie Plot
The plot for the Obi-Wan movie will be a very difficult to write and prepare. One of the most plausible and interesting stories would be a rematch with Darth Maul, but that storyline was wrapped up in Rebels which makes us wonder what else could there be left. With a lot of info regarding this spinoff missing, it is difficult to predict in which way it will go, especially when we know that Obi-Wan was regarded as a crazy old man rather than an action hero by the time A New Hope kicked off. If the Tatooine scenario comes true, then we all must be aware that there will not be any direct attack on the Empire because Obi-Wan must keep under the radar since he is there to keep an eye on Luke. The only solution for this low-profile plot in the Obi-Wan movie is to add a smaller scale story for him to get involved in. We shall see what will become of this all.
The tone of Obi-Van Kenobi Solo Movie
The tone of any movie is a very important thing, and it will be for this one as well. If the spinoff takes place between the prequels and the original trilogy we can very easily expect to see some dark times since the galaxy is in the grips of a ruthless dictator and Tatooine is overrun by thieves and cons. When Lucas envisioned Tatooine, he had a lot of influence from Westerns, and this is apparent thanks to Tatooine being such a difficult place to live. They are facing constant raids by Sand People, Jawas pushing dodgy droids on unsuspecting farmers, and finally, Obi-Wan having all the power he needs to rid this place of all evil but lacks the freedom actually to do that. The Obi-Wan spinoff might try and picture the themes of loneliness, isolation, and regret that Obi-Wan lives through on Tatooine since he was once the height of galactic peacekeeping, but now he’s more like a ronin, trapped in the desert with no master and no real cause to follow.
The villains
Now for the fun part, the villains. If the storyline is set on Tatooine than all the well-known villains like Maul, Vader or Palpatine are out of the question. The only obvious one is Jabba the Hutt, a crime lord at the heart of Tatooine. But, (there is always a but) there is a problem with this. Jabba wasn’t defeated until Leia choked him in Return Of The Jedi, plus he never made any reference to a Jedi causing him problems on Tatooine. If Obi-Wan is going to be stacked up against Jabba, then it will have to be in a secretive sort of way, plus Obi-Wan definitely can’t kill or dethrone him. The solution to this is to add a completely new character that has no predetermined faith or put Obi-Wan against an Imperial inspection on Tatooine, where he could protect the people from Stormtroopers and toppling the local Imperials without alerting their bosses.
Cameos
Well, the obvious one here is Jabba the Hutt and although he is not a sure thing as the main antagonist I don’t see why he couldn’t get a cameo. The same applies to Greedo and Max Reebo, and anyone else that has ever been spotted in the Mos Eisley Cantina and/or Jabba’s Palace. One more interesting cameo would be from Boba Fett with whom Obi-Wan has history, but the one cameo that brings everyone the most excitement is the possibility that Liam Neeson could finally make a Force Ghost cameo as Qui-Gon Jinn. If you recall The Clone Wars animated show, the Ahsoka novel, and the comic book From The Journals Of Old Ben Kenobi have all featured brief instances of Obi-Wan communing with Qui-Gon, which makes this cameo the most likely, as well as most exciting, one.
About the Director
It is time to stop guessing, predicting and wishing, time to actually tell you something that we know – Stephen Daldry is the man developing this movie. Daldry started his career in theatre and picked up a lot of awards in the process (unfortunately he is still without a big action movie on his CV), but he has something that can be appreciated. He is a filmmaker that’s more interested in character development and personal interactions than blowing things up and choreographing duels. Daldry’s skillset like this could blend nicely with portraying an outcast Obi-Wan fighting against his demons in a desolate environment. If it turns out like that this could actually be the first, deep, Star Wars character study that could portray a Jedi as a lonesome and regretful ronin, who’s tempted to help the locals but fully aware of the risks involved.
