Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Solo Series: A New Hope for Star Wars Fans
As much as many of us would love to see an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie grace the big screen, it seems that destiny has other plans. Rumors of its cancellation and a potential hiatus for the Star Wars franchise have been circulating. However, there is a glimmer of hope, as Brendan Hesse from Digital Trends and many others have reported that Disney’s new streaming service will be reviving the wise Jedi Master in his own solo series, which could potentially run for a season or two.
While the streaming network has yet to be unveiled and released to the public, it appears to be a top priority for Disney. Fans have been clamoring for a Kenobi-centric project for quite some time, and it’s easy to see why.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Fan-Favorite Character Deserving of the Spotlight
Kenobi is a character who has been present throughout the original trilogy and the prequels, so it’s only natural that he would become a fan favorite. The casting of his part was exceptional, making him a memorable figure in the Star Wars universe. In A New Hope, Kenobi initially seemed to be there for support, but the original story painted him as a much more important figure than people might have initially thought. George Lucas had big plans for Kenobi at one time, and it seemed as though things might have been geared towards giving the old Jedi Master his own movie for a while. Unfortunately, that never happened and won’t likely happen any time soon as far as anyone knows.
It’s both tragic and fortunate, as there are a great number of stories that Kenobi has taken part in throughout his time as a Jedi. Many of these tales have showcased just how strong he really is in the Force and why he’s considered to be one of the greatest masters ever.
Alex Kormann of The Daily Tar Heel is pretty adamant about telling anyone who will listen that Kenobi is the greatest Jedi master that ever lived, and he does have a few interesting points. Despite being a bit combative about it, he points out that when it comes to the Force, Kenobi is far more balanced than many of the Jedi and is able to adapt to a situation without hesitation most times and without as much difficulty. He’s gone against the Jedi code in the past, gone against orders from his superiors, and gone against conventional wisdom to get something done. It might sound as though I’m talking about Anakin, but Kenobi is far more balanced than his former pupil and much more alert to the world around him and what it has to offer. This is what makes Kenobi so great, and what makes it possible for him to begin one of the greatest series that Disney could hope to bring to their audience.
A Series Over a Movie: The Right Choice for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Story
To be honest, it seems like a much better idea to bring Kenobi in with his own series than to create a movie. As we saw with Han Solo, this whole idea just didn’t pan out. Plus, if you’ve read the books that are now considered non-canon (thanks Disney), you might feel that Han’s story could have still been told according to the books without having to go so off track. But hey, directors and their vision and all that stuff. The hope, though, is that they could possibly go back to the books that are a part of the Legends canon and seemingly, FINALLY, agree that some of those books and the authors that wrote them were on the right track and created a backstory and a life for Kenobi that was worth looking into. After all, he spent nearly two decades on Tattooine alone looking over Luke; you can’t imagine that nothing happened in all that time. Plus, there was a point in time when Kenobi was young and almost kicked out of the Jedi Order over disobeying his master and almost getting involved with a war on another planet. And then there are the years he spent training Anakin, during which there’s a story that has to do with a living planet that they both visited.
There are a lot of stories that Kenobi could use to flesh out his character even further, and the novels aren’t even the extent of it. During the Clone Wars, there were many missions that Kenobi took part in that were brought to light only in the graphic novels. There’s simply too much material there for a movie to explore fully, but a series could definitely bring Kenobi back to prominence.
