The D23 panel announcing the lineup for the Disney+ streaming service was like an all-you-can-eat buffet of Star Wars, the return of Disney Channel favorites, Marvel Phase 4 series, and of course, fans ate up every single bite.
But what really got the main hall at the Anaheim Convention Center all abuzz was the trailer for The Mandolaroian and the confirmation that a grizzled old Space Wizard would return in his own series. First, here's the awesome trailer for The Mandalorian:
WOW. This definitely isn't a kids show. With the severed heads of Storm Troopers impaled on pikes outside of a remote outpost, to a bad guy getting cut in half by an irising door, we get all the grime and grit of a hi-tech space western. But what really struck me was how big-budget this series really is. There is a ton of production value there with full-size set pieces and some very well done CGI courtesy of ILM -- the production budget is on par with the feature films (as it should be.) Jon Favreau is bringin' it, and hell is coming with him.
Credit: Lucasfilm
Fans also got introduced to the entire cast, including Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, and even Taika Waititi, who voices fan-favorite bounty hunter IG-88 and will be directing several episodes. The Mandalorian is shaping up to be the space version of the Eastwood's Man with No Name.
Credit: D23/Lucasfilm
Not to be outdone, Disney also brought out two cast members from the Untitled Cassian Andor Series, Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk. The series has no official title just yet, but will begin filming after the first of the year.
Credit: D23/Disney
And then came the biggest news of all. Ewan McGregor took to the stage, confirming that Disney+ has greenlit a limited streaming series about Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even more, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced that all the scripts have been written and that filming would take place in 2020. Wow. How could they bang it out so fast?
Well, we need to remember that a Kenobi film was deep in development before it was shelved after the failure of Solo. So it wouldn't be all that hard to split it out over a few episodes as a miniseries.
Can you please ask me if I'm going to play Obi Wan Kenobi again? YES.
Credit: Lucasfilm
But the question is, when is Kenobi going to take place? Well, Lucasfilm answered that question as well by putting up a graphic that shows that Obi-Wan Kenobi takes place in the middle of the time frame explored in Solo: A Star Wars story, about eight years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ when the service launches November 12th. The final season of Star Wars: Rebels premieres in early 2020, and both Untitled Cassian Andor and Kenobi series will begin filming in early 2020.
