The Disney Plus Obi-Wan TV show has been hit by filming delays

Ewan McGregor calls the scripts for the Star Wars spin-off “really good”

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Filming on the Obi-Wan focused TV show forDisney Plushas been delayed from this August to early 2021, according to actor Ewan McGregor. This clarification came after a report onCollidersaid that pre-production crew at London’s Pinewood Studios had been sent home, with the production put on hold “indefinitely”.

THRthen followed up with a story that mentioned there were issues with the scripts, and that a new writer was being sought for the project. The number of episodes, too, had reportedly been cut from six episodes to four. All of that sounds pretty bleak, but McGregor himself seems confident that the release date won’t be affected. And he’s very positive about the scripts he’s read so far.

“It’s just slid to next year, that’s all,” the actor toldIGN. “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.” McGregor said. “Instead of shooting this August, they just want to start shooting in January, that’s all. Nothing more dramatic than that.”

“It will have the same release date, I don’t think it will affect the release date.”

THR notes that one of its sources compared the Obi-Wan show toThe Mandalorian, with Obi-Wan protecting a younger Luke Skywalker, with the possibility of a Princess Leia appearance as well. It was previously revealed that Drive screenwriter Hossein Amini and The Mandalorian director Deborah Chow were working on Obi-Wan.

Separately, McGregor toldGamespotthat rumors of creative differences are “bullshit”, and that none of it is true.

What next?

It’s hard to know what to make of all of this. McGregor’s enthusiasm for the material seems really positive, and a bit of extra attention to the story can’t hurt, especially after the mixed response toThe Rise of Skywalker. The Mandalorian showed thatStar Warscan be thrilling on the small screen when it’s done right, and it feels like any step back into prequel territory needs to be approached carefully.

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Either way, it sounds like we won’t see anything on this show until late 2021 at the earliest.

The thing we want to know is this: will this spin-off feature a grudge match lightsaber battle between Obi-Wan and Darth Maul? We know Maul is still alive as of the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and that feels like it could be a thrilling climax to a show like this.

Samuel is a PR Manager at game developer Frontier. Formerly TechRadar’s Senior Entertainment Editor, he’s an expert in Marvel, Star Wars, Netflix shows and general streaming stuff. Before his stint at TechRadar, he spent six years at PC Gamer. Samuel is also the co-host of the popular Back Page podcast, in which he details the trials and tribulations of being a games magazine editor – and attempts to justify his impulsive eBay games buying binges.

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