‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Release Date Delayed and This Isn’t the First Delay
Star Wars is returning to the tale of Obi-Wan Kenobi, first introduced in the original film, A New Hope. Ewan McGregor is reprising his role from the prequel trilogy in a new Disney+ series. The streaming series has been in the works for a long time, and it’s about to get a little bit longer. The Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi release date just moved further away.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi released a video on March 31 with McGregor announcing a delay in the premiere. Here’s when you can see Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+, and some good news.
‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ release date is only delayed 2 days
McGregor introduced the video thanking fans for their interest in Star Wars: Obi-Wan on Disney+.
“Hello Star Wars fans,” McGregor began. “Thank you for all your incredible support and response to Obi-Wan Kenobi. I have some important news.”
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi was originally scheduled to premiere Wednesday, May 25. Fortunately, it is only moving two days so it will still premiere on Memorial Day weekend.
“Our premiere date is moving just a couple of days from Wednesday to Friday May the 27th,” McGregor said.
When Disney+ launched in November 2019, original series like The Mandalorian would premiere on Fridays. Disney+ switched to Wednesday premieres in 2021. There has been no announcement that the streaming service is officially switching back to Friday premieres. Update at 10:53AM, Disney confirms new episodes will return to Wednesday debuts starting June 1.
2 episodes premiere May 27
There is one silver lining to the Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi delay. While you have to wait two extra days to see the premiere, now you’ll get two whole episodes on May 27. That’s basically an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie.
“But here’s the exciting part,” McGregor revealed. “The first two episodes will premiere together. So make sure you tune into both episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi streaming Friday May the 27th exclusively on Disney+.”
‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ has faced delays before
This two-day bump is only the latest in a series of delays that have plagued Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. McGregor appeared at D23 in 2019 to announce he was returning to the role. By 2020 though, Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy put the Obi-Wan series into turnaround. She told EW recently why she postponed filming from Aug. 2020 to Jan. 2021 to revise the show.
“We’re looking, ultimately, to make a hopeful, uplifting story,” Kennedy told EW. “And it’s tricky when you’re starting with a character in the state that Obi-Wan would be in coming off of Revenge of the Sith. That’s a pretty bleak period of time. You can’t just wave the magic wand with any writer and arrive at a story that necessarily reflects what you want to feel.”
After rewriting the scripts and filming the show in 2021, another two days is nothing. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place during Kenobi’s years in hiding on Tatooine, between the events of Revenge of the Sith and meeting Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in A New Hope.
