Disney+ confirms Obi-Wan series

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy

The Walt Disney Company has confirmed six new titles heading for its direct-to-consumer (D2C) service Disney+, including a Star Wars spin-off featuring Ewan McGregor reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

McGregor confirmed he will star in the as-yet-untitled series from Lucasfilm for Disney+ at the D23 Expo, held in Anaheim over the weekend.

The role was made famous by Sir Alec Guinness in the original Star Wars films before McGregor took the part in the prequel trilogy between 1999 and 2005.

The other titles unveiled by the Mouse House during the event included three new live-action series from Marvel Studios: Ms Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk, all of which are derived from Marvel comics.

Meanwhile, Hilary Duff will reprise the role she made famous in a new Lizzie McGuire series from Terri Minsky, creator of the original Disney Channel sitcom, which ran between 2001 and 2004.

Elsewhere, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the Muppet gang will feature in an unscripted shortform series titled Muppets Now.

The series will eventually join the launch titles on Disney+ when it makes its debut in the US, Canada, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand in November, such as The Mandalorian, Lady & the Tramp, Noelle, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, The World According to Jeff Goldblum and Encore!.

The event featured in-person and video appearances from the stars of Disney+’s slate of originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

At launch, Disney+ will cost US$6.99 per month and offer support for the English, Spanish, French and Dutch languages, including user interfaces, as well as audio support and/or subtitles for library content, with additional languages available for Disney+ originals.

“Storytelling is the cornerstone of The Walt Disney Company and we’re thrilled to unveil a new slate of original shows from the Star Wars and Marvel cinematic universes, along with popular television franchises set to return with all-new series streaming only on Disney+,” said Kevin Mayer, chairman of D2C and international.

Series set to arrive on the service after it launches in November include half-hour single-camera comedy Diary of a Female President, Marvel Studios’ The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Monsters Inc spin-off Monsters At Work and a new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which will stream on Disney+ in February 2020.

Meanwhile, in 2021, Disney+ will debut the Marvel Studios series WandaVision, Loki and What If…?.

WandaVision will see Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen play Vision and Wanda Maximoff respectively, two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives who begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

It will also star Kat Dennings, Randall Park and Kathryn Hahn and will see director Matt Shakman and head writer Jac Schaeffer blend the style of classic sitcoms with the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU).

Loki will see Tom Hiddleston return as the god of mischief in stories that take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame.

What If…? will be Marvel Studios’ first animated series that focuses on different heroes from the MCU and imagines what would happen if the events in the films worked out differently.

Finally, Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk joined Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy to introduce the audience to the second Lucasfilm live-action series for Disney+, which is now in development.

Both actors are reprising their roles from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the stories follow Cassian Andor’s adventures as a rebel spy during the formative years of the Rebellion, before the events of A New Hope.