By Amanda Lee Myers
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Ewan McGregor says any delay in completing work on in his new Obi-Wan Kenobi "Star Wars" streaming series will be brief and is aimed at making it better.
McGregor addressed trade reports that the Disney Plus series had been placed on hold at an event Thursday promoting his latest film "Birds of Prey."
"It's only just slid back a bit," McGregor told The Associated Press. "But we're still shooting it. I think it'll still be aired when it was meant to be and I'm really excited about it."
The series will focus on Kenobi, a Jedi master, in the years before the events of the first "Star Wars" film. Alec Guinness played Kenobi in the original film, introducing millions to the franchise's mystical power, The Force.
McGregor played a young Kenobi during his early years a Jedi in three prequel films, beginning with 1999's "The Phantom Menace."
"The scripts are excellent and they just want them to be better, and so we just pushed it back," McGregor said of the new series. "It'll be fun to play again."
A return to the role for McGregor has been long rumored, and was announced last year at Disney's D23 Expo. McGregor has said he felt somewhat tortured by all the secrecy around the project.
The show is scheduled to become the second live-action "Star Wars" series on Disney Plus. "The Mandalorian" has been a hit for the new streaming service, introducing audiences to new Star Wars characters, including the adorable, memeable Baby Yoda.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More