The notion of an Obi-Wan Kenobi spinoff has been floating around for years, perpetuated in part by Ewan McGregor, who played the young version of Luke Skywalker’s mentor in the Star Wars prequels. As recently as last month, McGregor was still talking up the concept with his idea for a two-part spinoff. Lucasfilm has kept unusually quiet about the whole thing, and according to a new rumor, we might finally know why.

Although the following should be regarded as a rumor, we’re going to go ahead and give you a spoiler warning since some of this info pertains to the current Star Wars saga.

 

Still with us? Good. EW’s Anthony Breznican was recently a guest on the Rebel Force Radio podcast (via Geek Tyrant), where he dropped a little rumor about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s role in the Star Wars universe. Breznican, whose intel is typically reliable, reveals the reason why Lucasfilm has yet to announce an Obi-Wan spinoff:

I have heard rumors that the one reason they haven’t moved sooner on Obi-Wan is that they’re not done with Obi-Wan quite yet in the saga films. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Obi-Wan [solo film] happen beyond ‘Episode IX.’

Lucasfilm has confirmed that there are plans to continue the Star Wars franchise after the current trilogy concludes with Episode IX. It also seems likely that the Skywalker family saga will come to an end with Colin Trevorrow’s film, which leaves the studio with endless possibilities for future saga stories. That’s what we do know.

What we don’t know is whether those plans — for the current trilogy or beyond — actually do involve Obi-Wan Kenobi, but if Breznican’s info is correct, then we may see Luke’s old mentor return in the form of a Force Ghost. That’s not an entirely implausible idea, since McGregor provided his voice for that scene in Maz Kanata’s treasure room in The Force Awakens.

For now, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters on December 16. Episode VIII, directed by Rian Johnson, arrives on December 15, 2017.

More From Club 93.7