Throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy, no star burned as brightly as Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. From 1999 through 2005, the actor portrayed a young Kenobi who lost his master to a full-fledged Jedi training his troubled, teenage apprentice, and then a member of the Jedi Council who witnessed the fall of the Jedi Order, the Republic, and his former padawan and friend.
Despite being tasked to follow Sir Alec Guinness and play this iconic cinematic figure at three drastically different stages in his life, McGregor - unlike the prequel films - exceeded expectations and has long been considered one of the highlights of the trilogy.
17 years later, McGregor returned to the role in Lucasfilm's Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series and, once again, delivered in terms of his performance. But now that the series has (possibly?) concluded, and since both Star Wars and the MCU belong under the same conglomerate umbrella, will fans ever see the Star Wars actor within the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Kenobi's Ewan McGregor "Not Looking" to Join the MCU
During a panel at the Fan Expo Boston, as reported via ComicBook.com, Ewan McGregor addressed whether he would be interested in being part of the MCU, saying, "You know, I'm in this Star Wars world. I feel like I don't need another...:"
“I don’t know. I don’t know that I want to do that. Because I love doing all different kinds of work. It’s true. I love to direct. I’d like to be in the theater again. I definitely want to do this again, you know, I’m in this Star Wars world. I feel like I don’t need another... I’m not looking for that anyway."
While the Obi-Wan Kenobi star is "not looking" to join the MCU at the moment, he didn't rule out the possibility either, noting, "I shouldn't say I wouldn't do it:"
"I feel like I shouldn’t say I wouldn’t do it because in two years time you’ll be like, ‘You said you were never going to do this!’ But I’m not looking for it particularly.”
Interestingly enough, not only did McGregor say he "wouldn't do it," but he almost did.
In an interview from 2015 via CinemaBlend, McGregor admitted that he had been intrigued with the idea of "being a superhero character" and was "part of the mix" of contenders to play the MCU's Doctor Strange.
And, before that, storyboard artist Gabriel Hardman (via IGN) shared that, during the '90s, director Geoffrey Wright wanted the actor to play 20th Century Fox's Silver Surfer.
No "Hello There" MCU?
While Ewan McGregor has yet to make the jump from hyperspace to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fellow prequel trilogy actors have.
In addition to Mace Windu's Samuel L. Jackson who has been playing Nick Fury in the MCU since 2008, Padme Amidala's Natalie Portman played Jane Foster in Marvel's Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and recently returned to the role in this summer's Thor: Love and Thunder.
Also in 2022, Star Wars sequel trilogy star Oscar Isaac made his MCU debut in Moon Knight on Disney+; and in recent weeks, The Mandalorian's Giancarlo Esposito has reportedly been in talks with Marvel Studios as well.
But it's not just Star Wars stars who are crossing over into the MCU. Marvel talent is also joining that galaxy far, far away. For instance, in Lucasfilm's upcoming Star Wars Disney+ series Andor, Stellan Skarsgård, who played the MCU's Erik Selvig, is seemingly joining the burgeoning Rebellion as a brand new character, Luthen Rael.
Now, whether McGregor follows his fellow Star Wars actors' leads and appears in the MCU remains to be seen. While he is seemingly content with just being part of Star Wars and has even expressed his desire for more Obi-Wan, knowing that he was considered for Doctor Strange means that both the actor and Marvel Studios have had one another in mind before.
Also, since McGregor seems to enjoy playing iconic characters and given his success reprising his role as Obi-Wan, it would be surprising if Marvel Studios didn't give him a call in the future, especially if more Obi-Wan turns out to be a no-go.
In the meantime, it's fascinating to imagine what could've been if McGregor had been cast as Doctor Strange. One thing for sure is that Peter Parker's Star Wars references would've hit a bit differently.
All episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are available to stream on Disney+.
