When it comes to learning about new Star Wars content, there's really no beating a massive, feature-length look behind the curtain at Lucasfilm and Disney. This month's launch of the simply named Obi-Wan Kenobi series has proven a good occasion to get such a peek, thanks to a sweeping—and at times, frank—documentation of all things Star Wars from Vanity Fair.
The article primarily follows the lead actors of Disney+'s four upcoming live-action Star Wars series, though it also covers the IP's apparently rocky path away from feature-length films and toward serialized TV content (though, yes, it does get to films by the end). It includes an acknowledgment from Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy that the company's constant return to the old well, which has included a recast Han Solo and a CGI-tinged Luke Skywalker, isn't sustainable. When pressed about those attempts, she replied, "Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that."
Put Thrawn on notice?
So while the new May 27 Obi-Wan series will return to popular characters and their original actors, the upcoming Disney+ material announced here leans toward expansions of characters who don't necessarily date back to the original 1977 film. 2023's Ahsoka will focus on the popular character from Clone Wars and reintroduced on The Mandalorian, and its premiere season will focus on a "continuous story" that will almost certainly involve the character's refrain of hunting Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Andor, coming "late this summer," stars Diego Luna as his Rogue One character Cassian Andor and will be helmed by longtime Bourne film series director Tony Gilroy. This "refugee story" will rewind years before the events of Rogue One to the character's turning point from an anti-rebellion lone gun to a spy determined to stop the Empire's rapid expansion, and it will revolve largely around the "adopted home" he takes up after his birth world is destroyed.
Lucasfilm tells fans to expect a third season of The Mandalorian somewhere between Andor and Ahsoka (meaning late 2022 or early 2023). Though details on that upcoming season are scarce, the Vanity Fair feature explores the debate original showrunners John Favreau and Dave Filoni had over whether to introduce an infantile, Yoda-like creature in the first season. We learn that Favreau was the one vociferously arguing in favor of "the child," but the interview never says exactly what put Favreau's vision over the top.
We do hear Favreau credit artist Chris Alzmann with the design of Grogu, at least. "There were a lot of different looks that popped up, and then we got one that finally clicked," Favreau told Vanity Fair. "He had kind of a goofy, ugly look. We didn’t want him too cute."
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