From a top secret High Republic series to an influx of new information about Obi-wan Kenobi, here's every major Star Wars rumour from last month you need to know!
Obi-wan Kenobi
The Book of Boba Fett had only just wrapped up when Lucasfilm's marketing team immediately jumped in with the first poster for the Obi-wan series, and the announcement of a May 25th release date. This was accompanied by a handful of insider reports, which we'll dive into now.
The Grand Inquisitor casting
Bespin Bulletin claims that the Grand Inquisitor from Star Wars: Rebels will appear in the series, played by Rupert Friend. Friend is an English actor, known for a wide range of roles, from George Wickham in Pride and Prejudice (2005) to the titular character in Hitman: 47.
The character’s inclusion does make sense: as seen in the first two seasons of Rebels, the Inquisitors work well as more minor antagonists to stand in for Vader, and when the Obi-wan show takes place the Grand Inquisitor is the highest-ranking of the bunch. Cunning, perceptive and deliciously evil, he’s arguably the best original villain from Rebels, and many fans have been hoping for a live action debut. It looks like that wish is being granted!
Rupert Friend does look very much like the Grand Inquisitor; however, I feel it's a shame that Jason Isaacs won't be reprising the role, since the Lucius-Malfoy-esque voice he gave to the character was so iconic. However, Isaacs would have been filming the biopic Spinning Moon during summer 2021 - around the same time Obi-wan Kenobi was shot - so this may be a case of Lucasfilm having reached out to Isaacs, only for him to decline thanks to scheduling conflicts. Sometimes things just don't work out...
More Inquisitors... and what they'll be up to
The Grand Inquisitor isn’t the only character from Star Wars: Rebels rumoured to make an appearance. Last year, in an article by Jordan Maison, Cinelinx reported that the Fifth Brother will also show up, played by Sung Kang. Through descriptions of Kang’s costume and makeup, Bespin Bulletin’s sources seem to corroborate this, as well as providing some insight on a new Inquisitor we’ve never seen or even heard of before.
We’ve known that Moses Ingram is a part of the cast for Obi-wan Kenobi since March of last year, but only now do we have a clue about who she might be playing. Ingram is supposedly this mysterious new Inquisitor character, who goes by the name Third Sister; out of the three Inquisitors set to appear, she is the most important to the plot.
The same sources also offered some details of a scene relatively early in the series, set on Tatooine. Rumours suggest that the Third Sister will be questioning a local citizen in public, when she cuts off their hand, to the horror of the crowd and even the surprise of the Grand Inquisitor. Official concept art seemingly confirms that at least one Inquisitor will arrive on Tatooine, likely the Third Sister (with a resurrected Ninth Sister pictured here to fill in for her):
If this scene will indeed be in the series, it will establish the Third Sister as a ruthless character, and set a standard of brutality - as well as a very dark tone - for what’s to come. Plot leaks indicate that a threat to nine-year-old Leia will force Obi-wan to journey off-world, where he will inevitably face off against Inquisitors such as the Third Sister. She’s not the only dark-side-wielder we can expect to meet, however…
darth vader details
This article, by Andrew Gilman from The Direct, reports that while Vader will be the series' main antagonist, he won't actually appear in the show until episode 3. Since Obi-wan Kenobi is supposedly going to be a six-episode miniseries, this means Darth will only be seen in half of it. However, it makes sense: this allows more time to focus on the Inquisitors and set up the story in general (besides, I've been concerned for a while that Vader might take the spotlight away from Obi-wan too much).
The report also suggests that Vader will be depicted as "like the Darth Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story but angrier." It sounds like he will be very much in line with Hayden Christensen's portrayal of the character: not coldly indifferent, but driven by fierce rage - and a burning desire for revenge.
"If you are excited for Darth Vader returning like I am, you’re going to get exactly what you want. This Darth Vader is flipping and kicking ... you are going to see huge a difference between Darth Vader talking to Luke and trying to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi here some twelve years before the Empire Strikes Back confrontation with Luke. He’s out for blood."
The same source has also heard that "Obi-Wan and Vader do mega Force pushes to one another during the fight." Just picture how incredibly over-the-top this duel will be!
High Republic show(s)
The Obi-wan Kenobi series is already on the horizon, but next up is something a little more mysterious. In quick succession, February brought a chain of exciting rumours about two new series, live action and animated, set in the High Republic era.
Star Wars meets Stranger Things
Jordan Maison, writing for Cinelinx, has done most of the reporting on this subject. At the beginning of February, he wrote this exclusive on a new live action Disney+ series, focusing on pre-teen and teenage characters, and taking place during the High Republic. Most exciting of all was the possibility that a member of the 'Luminous Team' of authors (Charles Soule, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older and Cavan Scott) could be involved. One source described the project as "Stranger things in space".
Less than a week later, Production Weekly listed a Star Wars show with the working title of 'Grammar Rodeo' (not the actual title!), scheduled to film in June in Manhattan Beach. Jordan Maison confirmed that this was the High Republic series he had heard about, and this was backed up by both LRM Online and Bespin Bulletin.
An article covering this news for The Direct, by Andrew Gilman, speculated that the project could be about the main High Republic trio - Avar Kriss, Elzar Mann and Stellan Gios - as young padawans, telling the story of how their friendship began. They’re pictured below in a panel from the recent comic Star Wars #20 (side note: evidently, Stellan has always had a beard). Shortly afterwards, more news emerged to encourage the speculation.
On February 14th, The Illuminerdi reported details of a casting call for the Grammar Rodeo series. The article, written by Caitlin Tyrrell, claimed that Lucasfilm were searching for child actors to play an 11-year-old male character named “Wyatt”, another 11-year-old male character named “Ned”, a 12-year-old female or non-binary character named “Faye”, and a 12-year-old female character named “Kylie”. The names, similar to the working title, are most likely only stand-ins to keep the real names under wraps. Most interesting of all were the character descriptions that were given.
“Wyatt yearns for great adventures, but finds his attention easily diverted. He wishes to be the hero in any situation he finds himself in … Ned is described as Wyatt’s bashful best friend. Ned is kind with a massive heart, but also tends to be a rules follower … Faye is described as rebellious and extroverted, but at 12 years old they already have a chip on their shoulder … Kylie is Faye’s best friend and is described as serious, intelligent, and keeps her emotions guarded, behind a wall.”
These personalities could be matched with Elzar, Stellan and Avar, with the female or non-binary character potentially being the young version of Jedi Master Kantam Sy. However, since the casting call is open to actors of “any ethnicity”, I find it far more likely that this is a lineup of original characters.
Our final rumour for the Grammar Rodeo series this month comes from Discussing Film, in an article by Jacob Fisher. Apparently, Spider-man: No Way Home director Jon Watts and Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau will be involved in the project. Dependent on his already busy schedule, Watts could direct at least one episode, with Favreau executive producing the whole series. If this is true, it’s a huge surprise that Watts is fitting this in amongst three other major projects, and that Favreau is branching out from his work on shows set in the time period of The Mandalorian. Out of all the rumours for this mysterious series, I find this one the most hard to believe.
A new animated series
Admittedly, there's not much to go on for this project; nevertheless, it's certainly worth keeping an eye on.
All the way back in 2020, Jordan Maison got word that there were three animated projects in development (not including The Bad Batch) and that one of them was a High Republic series. We didn't have any specifics then, and we still don't now. However, Maison has heard persistent claims that the series is still happening. Most recently, he teased that animation studio ICON, the people behind the Monsters Inc TV spinoff Monsters at Work, were involved. You can find his cryptic tweet here. Perhaps this is just an assumption on his part, but it still gives me hope that we might hear more details about this project soon.
I can't help but wonder if either of these series are Tales of the Jedi, an unannounced Star Wars project, the logo of which was spotted on a Lucasfilm employee Christmas gift box last December. When this was discovered, I speculated that this could be a show following the anthology format of the comic series it's named after, visiting different characters and possibly spanning multiple time periods, instead of another linear story. Either way, I'm excited by the prospect of this new, imaginative era expanding into the onscreen medium.
Ahsoka
The Ahsoka series continues to take shape through what few leaks and rumours we know about. Last month brought another casting tidbit - along with plenty of speculation.
First of all, thanks to Production Weekly and Bespin Bulletin, the start of filming for the series is confirmed to be this April, under the working title Stormcrow. We don't know much about the plot, but Ahsoka's creator Dave Filoni has hinted that the series will realise a story idea he's had in mind for years, and we know from Kathleen Kennedy that it will lead into a "climactic story event". Ahsoka has been in pre-production for quite some time, as Lucasfilm will really want to get this one right, so it's welcome news that they're finally ready to film.
Secondly, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that actor Ray Stevenson has been cast as a villainous admiral - but not Thrawn himself. I've counted this as a rumour, but THR are one of the major Hollywood trades, which often have direct contact with studio representatives; just like when Natasha Liu Bordizzo's casting as Sabine Wren was reported by Deadline, this can safely be treated as official news. Stevenson hails from Northern Ireland, and has acted in a variety of film and TV projects, with parts ranging from Titus Pullo in the HBO/BBC historical drama Rome to Volstagg in the MCU's Thor trilogy. Most notably, he voiced Gar Saxon in Rebels and The Clone Wars, so this is a return to Star Wars villainy for him.
I've seen a number of people online speculate that Stevenson could be playing Brendol Hux, the father of General Armitage Hux from the sequel trilogy. While I think he'd be a good choice for the role, it doesn't line up with what we know about Brendol in canon: years before Ahsoka takes place, he fled to the unknown regions after the Battle of Jakku, and helped to found the First Order. Instead, I think it's more likely Stevenson will be playing a fan-favourite character, Gilad Pellaeon.
Pellaeon was Thrawn's right hand man in Timothy Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy, now part of the Legends continuity. He was a captain at that time, but in subsequent novels he rose through the ranks to become a grand admiral himself. In the finale of Star Wars: Rebels, Thrawn contacts a "Captain Pellaeon" whose star destroyer is suddenly jumped to hyperspace along with the rest of Thrawn's fleet, so Pellaeon will almost inevitably be part of this new story in some capacity.
Another, more unlikely, possibility is that The Hollywood Reporter was inaccurate, and Stevenson is actually reprising his role as Gar Saxon in live action. Since the former Governor of Mandalore is sadly deceased at this point in the timeline, the only way an appearance could work is a flashback to Sabine duelling and defeating him. I don't know how this could factor into the story, but since Sabine is presumably a major part of the series, it's plausible.
Return of the sequels
Our final major rumour for February is no more than a whisper, but it has huge implications for the future of the saga.
Recently, a former reporter for Variety - Joanna Robinson - was on The Ringer-verse podcast to discuss The Book of Boba Fett, when she mentioned hearing "whispers" that Lucasfilm is interested in telling stories set after The Rise of Skywalker about a new Jedi Order. It's a safe bet that the new Order would be led by Rey Skywalker, and according to Robinson, would break free of the age-old Jedi rule forbidding attachments.
While Robinson says these are only ideas, and points out that "you can fill an entire stadium with ideas Lucasfilm has been interested in but never realised", it would be a mistake to write off this possibility entirely. If Disney want to keep making Star Wars stuff, they'll have to move further down the timeline at some point, and we've already seen the inhumanity of the Jedi code revisited in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. This could be Lucasfilm planting the seeds for a new story - and a new era.
Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of the sequels, especially The Rise of Skywalker, and yet I absolutely love this idea. Rey, Finn, Poe and Rose are fun to watch, and there's lots of potential in bringing them back and allowing them to grow as characters once again. What's more, I've always thought that the Jedi's rule against emotional attachments was a mistake, a decision made out of fear. To see a new Jedi Order which learns from the mistakes of the past - and provides some thematic closure to this issue - would make me very, very happy.
That's all the biggest rumours summed up for the month of February, but with hopefully many more to come soon. I'm considering turning 'Rumours Abound' into a monthly series, so if you'd be interested in this, please like and share the article!
Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you...
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