Just How Big is 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Budget per Episode?
'Kenobi' creators spent a lot of money on each episode, but does it look like it? It doesn't, if you ask fans.
The Star Wars universe has expanded recently with a handful of new projects, but some fans could have settled for less new shows and more quantity. The sentiment is especially strong when it comes to 'Obi-Wan Kenobi ': for many people, the series about the Jedi Master does look more like a fan film rather than a long-anticipated and expensive Disney show – which is particularly weird, if the 2020 speculations about the show's budget are true.
According to LRM Online, each episode of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' had secured at least $25 million – quite a huge budget for a TV show, and that estimate was revealed even before the pandemic hit, raising the cost of every production significantly.
But many fans now argue that the result looks way cheaper.
"Obi Wan Kenobi is very disappointing for the mere fact it seems very low budget. The way the grand inquisitor dies so easy, the super aggressive character start, that terrible low quality fight between Vader and Obi and Vader let’s him get away cuz a fire blocks the path?" – @HunterDClark97.
Since 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' was released alongside Netflix 's 'Stranger Things ', some fans can't help but compare, noting that, after watching 'Stranger Things', 'Kebobi' actually feels like it was made on a shoestring budget.
Even compared to 'The Mandalorian ' – another Star Wars-themed series – 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' does not seem to keep up.
"I think maybe it just comes to directing and how each director makes use of The Volume. Not everyone can be Bryce Dallas Howard. Where Bryce Dallas Howard exceeds the other directors is how she uses that sense of scale," – @DrewSav.
Among the visual problems in 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' that have particularly irked fans are "de-saturated lighting" that does not provide any "real sense of light and temperature".
Moreover, according to some fans, the 2022 show does not look better than 'A New Hope' – a 'Star Wars' movie filmed several decades ago. Here's the visuals comparison, made by @Captainjjb84 on Twitter:
Still, there are a lot of people who are cool with 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' – not least due to the show masterfully playing with the fans' nostalgia and addressing issues people wanted addressed, such as the rematch between Kenobi and Darth Vader after their gruesome fight on Mustafar.
'Obi-Wan Kenobi' premiered on May 27, with the finale to arrive on June 22.