Obi-Wan Kenobi (television series)

During the reign of the Galactic Empire, former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi embarks on a crucial mission. Kenobi must confront allies turned enemies and face the wrath of the Empire.

In 2013, news was released that The Walt Disney Company-Lucasfilm Ltd. brand was developing several theatrical pictures separate from the core, episodic Star Wars saga, which were later denominated as the Star Wars Anthology Series line. Talks about a potential Obi-Wan Kenobi-centric movie as part of the Anthology series arose, and Ewan McGregor, the actor who played Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, was approached to reprise the role. However, McGregor knew about the project as far as back in 2015, and until 2019, he was forced to withhold information in interviews.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first installment of the Anthology Series, was released in December 2016 and was well received both critically and commercially. In August 2017, sources from The Hollywood Reporter reported that an Anthology film centered on Obi-Wan Kenobi starring McGregor was in development by Lucasfilm, with Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry in early talks to direct and oversee the project. Joel Edgerton, who portrayed Owen Lars in the prequel trilogy, had previously expressed interest on reprising his role in a spin-off film about Kenobi. Once he was hired to helm the film, Daldry contacted Hossein Amini to talk about the possibility of joining the project.

However, all Star Wars stand-alone spin-off films were put on hold following the lower-than-expected box office returns from Solo: A Star Wars Story, the second Anthology film, in May 2018. Four months later, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Lucasfilm had reevaluated its release schedule in the wake of the poor reception of Solo. It was later confirmed that there will be a hiatus on Star Wars following the release of Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker until 2022. Despite this, former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was quoted in November 2018 as saying that the filmmakers of the Obi-Wan Kenobi film had proposed shooting it in Northern Ireland. The Hollywood Reporter had previously voted it in a 2016 poll as the most wanted Anthology film by fans.

Stuart Beattie was hired by Lucasfilm to write a script for the Obi-Wan movie. McGregor then participated in a costume test for the planned film. However, at some point in development, the film project turned into a television series instead. Beattie's script—the first of a planned trilogy—served as the basis for the the series, which was officially announced by McGregor and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy at the 2019 D23 Expo after months of rumors and speculation. It takes place ten years after Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. During the event, it was also revealed that the episodes had already been written and that production would begin in 2020. Amini and Deborah Chow were later announced as showrunners in StarWars.com. Reva, the chief villain of the series, was originally killed off in Beattie's script.

On January 23, 2020, it was reported that the series had been put on hold due to alleged "script problems." However, McGregor later stated that these rumors were exaggerations and that production continued as normal. McGregor further stated that while filming was indeed delayed to January 2021, the series' intended release date would remain unaffected. On April 2, 2020, it was reported that John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum writer Joby Harold was hired to write the series, replacing Amini, who left the project back in January. This was confirmed in 2022, as Kennedy revealed in an interview that she was concerned with the direction of the scripts. She had shut down production in January 2020, and hired Harold to replace Amini. Despite leaving the project, Amini still received writing and story credits for four episodes of the season.

In April 2020, French press release reported that the series was scheduled to debut in 2022. In September 2020, McGregor expected the show to begin filming in spring 2021. On October 9, 2020, Ewan McGregor confirmed while on BBC's The Graham Norton Show that filming was scheduled for March of 2021. On December 10, 2020, more news on the series broke, including confirmation that the series would take place in 9 BBY and the announcement that Hayden Christensen would reprise his role as Darth Vader for the series. The series' logo was also revealed.

On March 29, 2021, Lucasfilm announced the cast list for the series, which includes Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Maree Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie. Filming began in April.

In late 2020, the series was said to be produced using "The Volume," a technology previously used for The Mandalorian. On May 19, 2021, it was revealed that veteran Star Wars concept artist Doug Chiang collaborated with director Deborah Chow on the series, making heavy use of different cultures for new designs. At least six department heads are of Asian American heritage, with Chung-hoon Chung serving as the director of photography. Filming wrapped on September 19, 2021. On February 9, 2022, StarWars.com announced that the series would premiere May 25 of that year. The first teaser trailer for the series was released on March 9. It was announced on March 31 that the premiere for the series would be pushed back to May 27, 2022, with the first two episodes premiering together.

On February 28, 2022, the Writers Guild of America West revealed the final writing credits of the season, which includes the previously unannounced writers Stuart Beattie, Andrew Stanton, and Hannah Friedman alongside Joby Harold and Hossein Amini. In a post-series interview with Star Wars Insider, series composer Natalie Holt stated "we didn't have very much time on Obi-Wan Kenobi, as it was a very compressed process," which she stated created "challenges" for herself and Chow while working on the soundtrack. Holt had been hired as composer in December and needed to be ready for music recording by early March.

On February 17, 2022, Variety released an article announcing that composer John Williams would return to the Star Wars universe, writing the main theme for the Kenobi character within the show, but that he wouldn't be scoring the series itself. On April 22 of that year, it was announced that Natalie Holt would be scoring the series, utilizing Williams' Kenobi theme. Additional music for the series was written by William Ross, a longtime Williams collaborator, as well as Peter Nickals, Jon Opstad, and Max Aruj.