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Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ Series Gets Back on Track with New Writer

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Joby Harold has reportedly been tapped to write the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi “Star Wars” series on Disney+. Variety reported that Harold will take over writing duties on the mysterious series from Hossein Amini, who exited the show in January. Sources close to production confirmed Variety’s report with IndieWire.

Few details are known about the upcoming Obi-Wan series, though prequel trilogy star Ewan McGregor is confirmed to reprise his role as the beloved Jedi. Deborah Chow, who directed two of the best episodes of “The Mandalorian,” will direct the Obi-Wan series.

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Harold most recently executive produced “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.” Whether this means that McGregor’s Obi-Wan will have the unique pleasure of killing a Stormtrooper with a pencil remains to be seen, but Harold also served as an executive producer on “Edge of Tomorrow” and wrote Zack Snyder’s upcoming “Army of the Dead” Netflix zombie film, which is scheduled to release this winter.

The upcoming Obi-Wan series will mark Harold’s first TV writing credit.

While Harold’s hiring indicates that work on the Obi-Wan series is progressing, the news follows what has been a rocky few months for the highly-anticipated project. The series reportedly suffered from script issues in January and crew were allegedly told that the series had been indefinitely delayed. It is unclear how drastically current events — which have disrupted wide swaths of the entertainment industry — will impact work on the Obi-Wan series.

The Obi-Wan series isn’t the only Disney+ project that has suffered from behind-the-scenes turmoil: Production on Hilary Duff’s “Lizzie McGuire” revival was halted in February, and Duff indicated that Disney was reluctant to allow the series to explore mature elements.

The untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series is one of several “Star Wars” television shows that will exclusively stream on Disney+. The House of Mouse’s platform hit the ground running with its “Mandalorian” tentpole, which is expected to release its second season in October. Filming on that series has already wrapped and its release date is not expected to be impacted by current events.

Disney+ is also working on a live-action Cassian Andor series, which will center on Diego Luna’s character from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The platform is also streaming the seventh and final season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”

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