What is going on here? This is potentially huge news if true. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson announced during a speech at the DUP conference this weekend that George Lucas is making theObi-Wan Kenobimovie, and that he will shoot it in Northern Ireland sometime in 2019. Here is what the man had to say during his speech.
“Which was the biggest grossing movie last year? Star Wars and where does George Lucas propose to make a follow up about Obi-Wan Kenobi? Northern Ireland.”
This news is quickly sending shockwaves through the fan community. But does it make any sense? Why would former mayor Boris Johnson announce to a room full of people thatGeorge Lucasis making aStar Warsmovie in Northern Ireland? Many suspect that this is a huge secret Disney and Lucasfilm have been holding onto, as they course correct the franchise by bringing the man who created it all back into the fold. Others suspect that Johnson maybe doesn’t know that George Lucas sold Star Wars and Lucasfilm to Disney way back in 2012. It’s also possible that Johnson is referring to movement on the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie before the whole thing was shuttered earlier this summer.
After the financial disaster that wasSolo, Disney announced it was halting all of the standalone movies it was currently planning. This included theObi-Wan Kenobimovie. BeforeSolocrumbled at the box office, the big rumor was thatObi-Wan Kenobiwas going to start shooting in spring 2019.Stephen Daldry was at one time up to direct the sci-fi spin-off, but he passed on it even beforeSolopremiered to lackluster ticket sales. Those earlier reports claimed thatObi-Wan Kenobiwould shoot in Belfast, so this all lines up with Boris Johnson’s announcement.
From here, it looks like Lucasfilm was actually planning to shootObi-Wan Kenobiin Northern Ireland next year, but maybe no one told Johnson it has been canceled, or put on hold. Or perhaps, Lucasfilm is still moving forward on the movie, and just hasn’t officially announced it yet. This is all pretty cloudy. But Boris Johnson seemingly confirms that George Lucas is definitely involved with the project somehow.
After many fans rallied againstThe Last Jedi, there has been much speculation and rumor that George Lucas would return to rescue his baby. And a lot of fans want to see that happen. 2019 will be a time of rectifying and fixing what many believe is a broken universe at this point. And that all begins with the release ofStar Wars 9in December 2019. Is it possible that one of the ways Lucasfilm is planning to fix things is with theObi-Wan Kenobimovie starring Ewan McGregor and directed by George Lucas, just like all three of the prequels? Many fans think it’s a great idea.
Some believe that theObi-Wan Kenobimovie is still being planned, only that it will be made exclusively forDisney’s new streaming service Disney+. It was reported way back in February of this year that George Lucas may be returning to Star Wars to directObi-Wan Kenobi. There are noted reports thatGeorge Lucas was scouting locations in BelfastforObi-Wan, and that he was heavily involved with the production, whether he was directing it himself, or just overseeing the project and acting as a consultant.
It’s possible that Boris Johnson is just taking what he knew was happening beforeSoloand reporting that. Or possibly, theObi-Wan Kenobimovie is really truly happening sooner than anyone thought, and that George Lucas is definitely on board. If that’s the case, we’re sure Disney and Lucasfilm do not appreciate this former Mayor blurting out these plans a bit prematurely. However it all plays out, you’re able to check out the man’s full speech from this weekend atThe Spectator. if what Boris Johnson says is true, then we can expect this to be one of the biggest announcements at next year’s Star Wars Celebration. We’re sure they won’t confirm anything before that.
