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‘Star Wars’ Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone film in development — Report

After years of speculation, Star Wars fans are finally getting one of their biggest wishes: an Obi-Wan Kenobi film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilm and Disney have begun development on their next standalone entry, centering on the Jedi made famous by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and Ewan McGregor in the prequels.

Stephen Daldry, the Oscar-nominated director of Billy ElliotThe Hours and The Reader, is in talks to direct. There’s currently no script, but if Daldry were to sign on, he would work with the team at Lucasfilm to develop one, the report suggests. Daldry recently directed two episodes of the first season of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated The Crown, one of which, Hyde Park Corner, he’s in contention for. He also directed two episodes of the second season, which will air in December.

For years, Ewan McGregor has enthusiastically stated that he would play the character again in a future film. However, due to the project’s stage of development, McGregor has yet to be confirmed, nor has any other actor.

Lucasfilm and Disney are currently in the home stretch of production on their untitled Han Solo standalone, helmed by Ron Howard after the firing of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, of 21 Jump Street22 Jump Street and The LEGO Movie. The film, starring Alden Ehrenreich as the gunslinging smuggler alongside Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, holds a May 25, 2018 release date. Yoda and Boba Fett have been rumored to be subjects of future standalone films.

This next picture does not presently have a release date. Some have speculated that, keeping in line with release strategies of the episodes and the anthology films, Obi-Wan Kenobi may be gracing the screen as early as the summer of 2020 after the May 24, 2019, release of the untitled ninth episode, set to be directed by Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow.