Lucasfilm’s latestStar Warsseries,The Book of Boba Fett, has received a mixed response from critics and fans. The show had pacing issues, its storytelling was disjointed and unfocused, and it turned into a whole other series for a couple of episodes in the middle. After the finale episode struggled to pull it all together with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Battle of Tatooine,The Book of Boba Fetthas left a bad taste in some fans’ mouths.
The series wasn’t a complete disaster, of course. It had more than a few saving graces, like Boba riding a rancor, Mando and Grogu’s heartfelt reunion, and a live-action Cad Bane rendered as a Lee Van Cleef spaghetti western villain. Ultimately,The Book of Boba Fettended up beingmore likeThe Mandalorianseason 2.5than a focused Boba-centric spin-off. It lost interest in Boba’s plodding gangster narrative in the first half of the series and just shifted the spotlight to the Mandalorian in the second half.
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Disney announced the release date forObi-Wan Kenobioff the back ofThe Book of Boba Fettfinale. Ewan McGregor’s six-episode return to the role of Master Kenobiwill kick off on May 25. While this was previously one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year, following the disappointment ofThe Book of Boba Fett, someStar Warsfans are less excited forObi-Wan Kenobi. But those fans shouldn’t be disheartened. While Lucasfilm is overseeing both shows, they’re being spearheaded by completely different creative teams.
The Book Of Boba Fett Was More Like The Book Of Din Djarin
As a direct spin-off fromThe Mandalorian,The Book of Boba Fettwas helmed byThe Mandalorian’s central creative partnership of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. The duo teamed up with Robert Rodriguez, whodirected Boba’s return to actioninThe Mandalorian’s season 2 episode “Chapter 14: The Tragedy.” In its first few episodes,The Book of Boba Fettset itself up as a standalone story about Tatooine’s criminal underworld, but it soon tied into the Mando-verse with a setup for Ahsoka’s spin-off, a jaunt to Luke’s Jedi academy, and an entire episode ofThe Mandalorian. UnlikeThe Book of Boba Fett,Obi-Wan Kenobiwill be a true standalone story. It has no links to any larger narrative arcs (except for the Skywalker saga, of course) and it was developed as a singular vision forObi-Wan and Anakin’s relationshipat the midpoint betweenEpisodes IIIandIV.
All six episodes will be directed by Deborah Chow, who previously helmedThe Mandalorianepisode “Chapter 3: The Sin.” This episode was a crucial turning point for the series, as Mando broke the bounty hunter guild’s rules by returning to the Client’s compound and saving Grogu from his nefarious cloning experiments. “The Sin” turnedThe Mandalorianfrom a fun newStar Warsadventure into a must-see water-cooler show. Chow made Mando’s gearshift knob a poignant visual motif that has carried through subsequent seasons ofThe Mandalorian(and even came back inThe Book of Boba Fett). She’s clearly a great director with a focus on characters and their relationships, both narratively and visually, which is perfect for the story ofObi-Wan and Vader’s heartbreaking allies-turned-enemies dynamic.
Just as all six episodes ofObi-Wan Kenobiwill be directed by the same person, they’ll all be written by the same person, too: Joby Harold. While he has some impressive producing credits under his belt, Harold has yet to prove himself as a writer (he’s working on the upcomingTransformers: Rise of the Beasts). But at least Obi-Wan’s story is being told from beginning to end by the same writer, and that writer isn’tthe creator of some otherStar Warscharacterwho’s going to swoop in halfway through and steal the spotlight.
Obi-Wan Might Share Boba’s Tatooine Problem
Based on the premise alone,Obi-Wan Kenobicould share one ofThe Book of Boba Fett’s biggest problems: too much Tatooine. Boba’s adventures were confined entirely to the familiar environments of Tatooine, squandering the spacefaring potential ofStar Warsstories. SinceObi-Wan Kenobiisset during Obi-Wan’s exile on Tatooine, it could suffer from the same problem. Hopefully, like the original 1977Star Warsmovie, Obi-Wan’s series will use Tatooine as a plain, dusty springboard into a dazzling intergalactic adventure hopping from planet to planet.
One of the few great things inThe Book of Boba Fettwas Temuera Morrison’s performance. It’s been fun to see Disney’sStar Warscontent taking perfectly cast actors from the movies and giving them more screen time to deepen and develop their characters in new projects.Obi-Wan Kenobihas this in spades,bringing back Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, Joel Edgerton as Uncle Owen, and Bonnie Piesse as Aunt Beru. No matter how the story turns out, it’ll be great to see all these actors back in their iconicStar Warsroles.
Obi-Wan Kenobiwill stream on Disney+ from May 25. All episodes ofThe Book of Boba Fettare streaming now.
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