Obi-Wan Kenobi Release Date Moves From Wednesday To Friday

The release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi is moving back slightly as audiences will be treated to the first two episodes at once now. Lucasfilm has been working for the last several years to bring Ewan McGregor back as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The studio finally announced a few years ago that it was happening in the form of a Disney+ series after plans for a movie were changed. Obi-Wan Kenobi brings McGregor back to his iconic role over a decade after he last appeared in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and it will also see Hayden Christensen return as Darth Vader. The rematch between Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker is just one of many reasons why the series is so anticipated

After plenty of silence about the project, Lucasfilm released the first Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer earlier this year. The footage of Ewan McGregor's return, the live-action debut of the Inquisitors, and a tease of Darth Vader's role were enough to create plenty of excitement among fans. It was also revealed that the series would debut on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Audiences have been gearing up for the show's release on this date ever since, but now there are two changes coming to the release schedule.

Related: Why Star Wars' Grand Inquisitor Design Changes Are A Mistake

Lucasfilm released a new video today of McGregor, which revealed that Obi-Wan Kenobi's release date has moved back two days. The series will now debut on Disney+ on Friday, May 27, 2022. To make up for the two day delay, McGregor shared the good news that audiences will now be able to watch the first two Obi-Wan Kenobi episodes on the same day. After this, subsequent episodes will revert to Wednesday releases. Check out the announcement video below:

Click here to see the original video

The decision to move Obi-Wan Kenobi's release date to Friday for a double episode premiere means Lucasfilm is bypassing an opportunity to debut the show on the 45th anniversary of A New Hope's release - and Obi-Wan's first appearance. It is not officially known why this decision was made, but Star Wars Celebration happening at the same time could have something to do with it. However, the new release date pits Lucasfilm's hotly-anticipated Star Wars series up against another major streaming show, as Netflix drops Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 on the same day.

In the grand scheme of things, pushing Obi-Wan Kenobi's release date back two days is minimal, and fans should be quite excited to know they get to watch two episodes on the same day now. Disney has done two-episode premieres in the past for some of the MCU Disney+ shows, but this will be a first for Star Wars as both seasons of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett had single episode debuts. Now, there will be even more excitement on the day Obi-Wan Kenobi releases as viewers experience the first two episodes of McGregor's return.

More: Original Obi-Wan Plan Perfectly Highlights Star Wars' Story Problem

Source: Lucasfilm