1999 marked the beginning of the Star Wars prequel trilogy with the release of The Phantom Menace, a film that would be initially criticized by viewers.
The prequels as a whole were criticized for many years, but the opinions about one aspect of them have never changed, and that is how perfectly Ewan McGregor portrayed the fan-favorite character Obi-Wan Kenobi.
McGregor's performance has been widely praised by fans of all ages, and the majority of those people have longed for a solo film dedicated to Obi-Wan. When Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise from creator George Lucas and announced that they would be releasing multiple standalone A Star Wars Story movies, buzz about the desire for one of those to be centered around Obi-Wan Kenobi was at an all-time high.
After the Rogue One and Solo releases, Disney revealed that there would be no more standalone films to come. At first, fans were crushed that a Kenobi film wouldn't be in the near future until the confirmation of a six-episode mini-series following the character after the events of Revenge of the Sith was announced.
The series, titled Obi-Wan Kenobi, will follow Kenobi (once again portrayed by McGregor) on the planet Tatooine as he discreetly keeps a watchful eye on the young Luke Skywalker. It will also feature the return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, who played Anakin Skywalker alongside McGregor in the prequel films.
The Obi-Wan actor has expressed his love for the character in the past and has recently revealed a few of his thoughts about the upcoming Disney+ series.
EWAN MCGREGOR ON RETURNING TO STAR WARS
McGregor recently sat down with The Mandalorian's lead actor Pedro Pascal on Variety's Actors on Actors 2021, discussing what it has been like for him to return to the world of Star Wars, and even teased the on-screen appearance of the imperial stormtroopers.
He revealed to Pascal that he had to "walk past" a couple of stormtroopers, and also how it made him feel "6 years old again," saying:
"I’ve got to be so careful. There’s no secret to when this series is being set, but I had to walk past two Stormtroopers. I realized I’ve never acted with a Stormtrooper because mine were clones, you know? It was the clone army. So I’d never seen a Stormtrooper. So I was walking past them in this scene. I turned around — and I was 6 years old again."
McGregor went even further to state that the feeling of being there was "insane," and also added that he has filmed a scene "with a little Jawa:"
"Insane. I was feeling like I was 6 again or something, because I’m so close to one and I got a fright, you know? So crazy. Then I asked someone, 'Were there Stormtroopers in my films? Because I don’t think I’ve seen a Stormtrooper for real before.' They were like 'No, they weren’t Stormtroopers; they were clones.' And Jawas, I had another scene with a little Jawa."
HOW STORMTROOPERS AND JAWAS GIVE INSIGHT TO THE OBI-WAN SERIES
Obviously, McGregor isn't able to go too deeply in-depth about the upcoming series. Disney and Lucasfilm want to hide as much as they can while still keeping fans interested in what will happen during the show.
However, his comments on having to "walk past two stormtroopers" confirm that the galactic empire will play a major role in the series, and will more than likely be stationed on Tatooine. The return of stormtroopers also suggests that there will more than likely be multiple scenes of action, treating fans to see McGregor in lightsaber combat again for the first time since 2005.
As far as his tease about a "scene with a little Jawa" goes, this will probably mean one of two things. Perhaps the mischievous Jawas stole something from Kenobi, and he will have to negotiate with them in order to get it back. But since that exact situation just played out in Chapter 2 of The Mandalorian, that seems unlikely. Rather, maybe Kenobi will be purchasing something that he needs from the Jawas, like Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen did in A New Hope.
Most of what will happen in the series is still a mystery, but it is extremely encouraging to hear McGregor talk about his excitement for the character as well as the entire show.
The mini-series does not have an official release date at this time, but fans can expect to see Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ in 2022.
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