Is Obi-Wan Kenobi set to return in ‘Star Wars 8’?

Character made a brief appearance in last year's 'The Force Awakens'

Obi-Wan Kenobi could be set to return in an upcoming Star Wars “saga” film, according to new reports.

The character, portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and Ewan McGregor in the prequel films, made a brief appearance as a spirit in last year’s The Force Awakens, with McGregor providing one line of dialogue along with a recording of the late Guinness saying “Afraid”, edited to say “Rey”.

Entertainment Weekly‘s Anthony Breznican recently spoke with Rebel Force Radio and suggested that the character of Obi-Wan could make a return in either Episode VIII or XI. It had previously been rumoured that there could be an Obi-Wan spin-off film.

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Breznican said: “I have heard rumours that the one reason they haven’t moved sooner on [a Obi-Wan spin-off] is that they’re not done with Obi-Wan quite yet in the ‘saga’ films. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Obi-Wan thing happen beyond Episode IX. Which it would have to anyway, because they’re booked up until Episode IX.”

“I don’t think that’s controversial to say, but I think that there’s bound to be some reference to Obi-Wan [in VIII or XI] – and I’m not being coy here, this is literally all I know is that [Lucasfilm’s thinking is] ‘Ehh, if you want to tell an Episode IX story, it’s better that it happens after this first trilogy, because things that happen in it can maybe reference The Force Awakens trilogy,’ if that makes any sense.”

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“Some of this is sort of like doing CIA spy work, where you get little pieces of information and then you try to connect them. But I think that they’ll probably be some reference to Obi-Wan in the ‘saga’ films, and his connection to whatever characters he happens to have a connection with. I’ve already written that I think that Rey has some kind of connection to him – family connection. So if that’s the case, maybe we see a part of that play out in the future Obi-Wan movie. Ewan McGregor would be the perfect age to reprise that [character]. So he seems game to do it, and I thin [the movie] hasn’t been one they’ve greenlit just yet, but partly because they’re still shaping that story. So we’ll see. I think it’s – again – kind of a no-brainer.”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, released in 2015, was the seventh episode of the franchise’s main saga. Follow-up Episode VIII is expected in 2017, with Episode IX slated for a 2019 release. Spin-offs like the upcoming Rogue One will be released in the years in between.

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