‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Demolishes ‘Star Wars’ Record, Wrecks ‘The Mandalorian’ Future

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Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan kenobi (left) and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker (right)

Credit: Lucasfilm

The Star Wars universe will never be the same without Obi-Wan Kenobi, and now its finale has changed the parameters of the Skywalker saga.

Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: ‘Star Wars’ Legend “On Board” for ‘Kenobi’ Movie, Disney Cuts Dream Short

The Mandalorian season three from showrunner Jon Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni is just around the corner. Still, the finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi just raised the bar for the series’ future success:

#ObiWanKenobi’s finale viewership was reportedly the highest yet for a #StarWars Disney+ series, drawing 1.8 million U.S. views in its 5-day debut! For comparison:

#TheBookOfBobaFett: 1.5M
#TheMandalorian Season 2: 1.1M

The Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series only broke Disney+ debut streaming records but has also become the most-watched Star Wars finale for the streaming service yet, surpassing the previous Star Wars finale record of 1.5 million set by The Book of Boba Fett.

mandalorian finale boba fett
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: ‘Star Wars’ Gina Carano Defies Disney, Officially Back in New Movie

The success of The Book of Boba Fett is mainly due to the landmark inclusion of deadly bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Grogu, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), but that still couldn’t surpass the excitement of every Star Wars fan seeing Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprise their respective Jedi Knight and Sith Lord roles.

Now, with excitement for more Star Wars streaming series at an all-time high and Andor coming at the end of summer, it’s evident that Disney and Lucasfilm are harnessing their creative powers to push the limits of how many households now tune into future streaming series.

grogu grinning in the mandalorian
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: ‘Kenobi’, ‘Andor’ Casting Leak Seemingly Confirms Satine Kryze

With Marvel’s Loki holding the finale record for a reported 1.9 million viewers, it’s clear that the Mouse House is looking to push those numbers even higher with the success of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Now, The Mandalorian season three finale will have to surpass the episodic inclusion of Luke Skywalker and more to be deemed a “success” in Hollywood (given the everchanging parameters of how studios measure the success of streaming series). If The Mandalorian can’t surpass or come close to the final numbers of Kenobi, industry leaders could (hopefully not) deem the hit series a miss.

More about The Mandalorian

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travels of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic….

Pedro Pascal as the Mandalorian
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: “Get Dave Filoni On the Phone!”, ‘Star Wars’ Fans Demand New Series

Wookiepedia writes:

In September 2017, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy reached out to Jon Favreau for possible ideas for Disney+, for which the company looked to create original content. He expressed interest in doing something with the Mandalorians, having reflected on some concepts he had developed when he first heard that Disney gained control of the franchise. In November, Favreau met with Kennedy and Carrie Beck to pitch his idea for the show. At the meeting, Kennedy told him that Dave Filoni was also interested in telling stories about Mandalorians…

On August 6, 2018, The New York Times reported that Favreau’s Star Wars series, which would be produced for Disney’s new streaming service, was expected to cost around $100 million for 10 episodes. In an email to The New York Times, Favreau stated that the service would allow for the opportunity to tell stories that go for several chapters. On October 26, 2018, it was reported that the rumored Boba Fett film had been scrapped, with Lucasfilm instead focusing on The Mandalorian. On November 13, 2018, Pedro Pascal was reported to be in negotiations to play the lead role in the series. The next day, Gina Carano was announced to have joined the cast according to Variety. On November 30, Variety again reported that Nick Nolte had been added to the show’s cast. On December 12, Lucasfilm officially announced the cast, confirming the casting of Pascal, Carano, and Nolte, along with Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, Omid Abtahi, and Werner Herzog.

dave filoni (left) and rosario dawson as ahsoka tano (right) on mandalorian set
Credit: Lucasfilm

Related: The Spin that Ruined ‘Star Wars’: Fans “Cringe” At ‘Book of Boba Fett’ FinaleS

The world of George Lucas is expanding beyond Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz), Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Darth Maul (Ray Parker), Anakin Skywalker (Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch/Temura Morrison), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), Moff Gideon(Giancarlo Esposito), the Millennium Falcon, the Death Star, and The Clone Wars.

Within the Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm is moving past Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or the controversial Rian Johnson Star Wars film The Last Jedi (2018) as we dive into the Old Republic or explore new realities of the Star Wars universe with each new TV show or the upcoming Star Wars game like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 or Star Wars Eclipse.

Do you think Obi-Wan Kenobi should get a second season? Comment below!

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