Star Wars Rumor: Obi-Wan Kenobi Connected to Episodes 8 & 9

Now that Disney and Lucasfilm have successfully relaunched the Star Wars universe, people around the world continue to hope that Obi-Wan Kenobi is in their plans. For now, Lucasfilm has not announced plans to make an Obi-Wan standalone film, but Ewan McGregor continues to voice his desire to play the role again. He got a small chance to get back in character for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens when he voiced a line during Rey’s vision, but that is not enough for fans of the galaxy far, far away.

Rumors have continued to arise as to how Obi-Wan could fit into their plans, with the majority of the reports pointing to McGregor getting a film trilogy showing the Jedi’s life between Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. This continues to be a possibility, but the reason a Obi-Wan movie has not yet been announced could be because Lucasfilm has plans to involve him in Star Wars: Episode VIII and/or Star Wars: Episode IX.

This rumor comes courtesy of EW reporter Anthony Breznican making an appearance on Rebel Force Radio (via StarWarsNewsNet) where he was asked about the future of Obi-Wan. While he could not confirm directly what Lucasfilm is planning, he revealed some of the rumblings he’s heard about his inclusion in the next two saga films. Here is what he said:

Um, I have heard rumors that the one reason they haven’t moved sooner on Obi-Wan 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.

Breznican is certainly a reliable source for information given how closely EW works with studios such as Lucasfilm. If this is accurate, the inclusion of more Obi-Wan raises questions about why he is there or referenced. Episode VIII referencing Obi-Wan would not be the biggest surprise after all. He is the mentor to Luke and appeared to him at the end of Return of the Jedi – and with Luke being the mentor to Rey this time around, him recalling advice from Obi-Wan would be a simple connection to make and one that would excite audiences.

However, if Lucasfilm truly is holding back on an Obi-Wan movie due to the saga films, then something more than a reference has to be in place. Regardless of whether it is Episode VII or IX, Breznican seems confident that McGregor will be making a physical appearance. This may sound familiar as McGregor appearing as a Force ghost in Episode VII was previously rumored this year.

As is the case with any Star Wars rumor, this could be another indicator to Rey’s lineage as well. Audiences began speculating the possibility of Rey being Obi-Wan’s granddaughter ever since he spoke to her in the vision sequence, but there was very little evidence to support the theory beyond this. If Obi-Wan’s role is important enough to hold off a standalone film, the revelation that Rey is his granddaughter is certainly a good enough reason to do so. Now, everyone will have to wait and see if there’s any truth behind that idea.