Star Wars Weekly: Good news and bad news for hungry Clones and Kenobi fans

Time again for STAR WARS WEEKLY, the SYFY WIRE series that rounds up the most important news of the week from a galaxy far, far away. Think of us as your own personal Star Wars Holocron.

KENOBI DELAYS?

The long-awaited Disney+ Kenobi series has been the subject of a number of rumors in the last couple of weeks. First, there were rumors that Ewan McGregor had walked from the project, but those were quickly proven false.

Then, on Thursday, Collider reported that it looked like the series was being put on indefinite hold. The site claimed that the show sent everyone home this week, and that Disney was eyeing at a hopeful summer start time. (The extent of the delay is unclear, especially considering that the series never had an officially announced timeline to begin with.)

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed many of Collider's details, adding that Disney is looking for new writers and is considering cutting the episode count from six to four.

Fortunately, Ewan McGregor was on hand to dispel at least some of the rumors. During a press event for Birds of Prey, he was still very optimistic about the series, explaining that this delay to keep working on the scripts won't delay the intended release at all, even if the start of shooting gets pushed back from August to January. So, there's definitely some story reworking, but it may not move the debut back.

It helps that no one in the public actually knows the intended release date. But Ewan McGregor is still in and the project is still on track for his schedule. So, while it's understandable to have a bad feeling about this, you probably don't need to have a terrible feeling. Kenobi will eventually hit Disney+.

THE CLONE WARS — SEASON 7

In better Star Wars TV news, this week saw the release of a trailer for the final season of The Clone Wars.

There are a lot of interesting things in here. First, we have a definitive release date. The first episode will drop on February 21, just under a month away. The series will kick off with "The Bad Batch" which is a four-episode arc featuring an elite group of misfit clones. This arc was shown in an unfinished form at a previous Star Wars Celebration and it will be great to see it completed.

We also got more tantalizing looks at the Siege of Mandalore, which will pit Ahsoka Tano against Maul. We've read glimpses of this confrontation in E.K. Johnston's wonderful novel Ahsoka, but to see it for the first time will be amazing.

One shot in the trailer (you can read our larger trailer breakdown here) is causing some fan heads to spin is a shot of Anakin talking to Padme via hologram and she's visibly pregnant. Some are saying this presents a plothole for Revenge of the Sith, because Anakin doesn't learn of Padme's pregnancy until that film. While it is the case he doesn't learn about that until Revenge of the Sith, this isn't a goof. Rather, it gives us a sense of time. These episodes overlap Revenge of the Sith. We know from Ahsoka that the Siege of Mandalore is concurrent with Order 66.

Our hearts will be shattered by the end of this season. Mark my words.

Another scene that's being replayed from Revenge of the Sith from a different angle is the briefing where Mace Windu senses a plot to destroy the Jedi. But there were more people in that scene than we realized:

Yup. Kanan Jarrus as padawan Caleb Dume.

The Clone Wars Season 7 begins on February 21 on Disney+.

THE END OF RESISTANCE

This weekend sees the end of Star Wars Resistance, following last year's announcement that Season 2 would be the show's last. We've been waiting for the finale to pull out all the stops.

This final episode brings Kylo Ren into the mix and ties up a lot of loose threads for our heroes. While it doesn't tie into The Rise of Skywalker as much as people would hope, it's still a satisfying conclusion for a show that took many fans by surprise.

This final episode airs on Sunday on Disney and Disney XD.

We'll miss the show airing new installments, but for those of you who slept on it, you'll have a chance to binge the entire second season on Disney+ sooner than you thought: February 25.

You're in for a treat.

DUEL OF THE FATES

Much has been made of Colin Trevorrow's version of Episode IX, dubbed Duel of the Fates. Last week, leaks of the script went viral and fans started digging into the details. This week, concept art from that era of the production made its way to social media.

It's all really cool looking stuff, but it's important to remember that the idea for a movie isn't a movie. Would this have been better than The Rise of Skywalker? Anything is possible. But maybe it wouldn't have been. It's interesting to dream about what it might be in an alternate reality, but that doesn't change what we have.

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!

We'll end today with a look at Lin-Manuel Miranda's contribution to The Rise of Skywalker. He provided the music for the Aki-Aki through his Star Wars musical alter-ego Shag F. Kava. The song is called "Lido Hey" and I'm glad he was able to contribute music not once but twice to the Skywalker Saga.

You can also spot Lin-Manuel Miranda in a brief cameo at the celebration on Ajan Kloss after the battle of Exegol. The same can not be said of Nien Nunb, who died a hero in the battle.

Until next week, May the Force Be With You!