After years of speculation and anticipation, Ewan McGregor has once again donned the cloak and saber to become Obi-Wan Kenobi. Currently releasing on Disney+, McGregor returns in the six-episode mini-series Obi-Wan Kenobi directed by Deborah Chow.
The mini-series occurs ten years after the tragic end of Revenge of the Sith (2005) with Kenobi in isolation on Tatooine as he watches over Luke Skywalker. McGregor spoke about the “very long, slow process of coming back,” and what the show has in store for fans.
Even though two nearly two decades had passed, McGregor found playing the old master wasn’t too tricky. McGregor notes that “Playing him felt totally like he’d always been there ready to come out any minute.”
Nonetheless, he discovered one surprising challenge: sounding like Obi-Wan Kenobi. “When we came to do the actual scenes with these other actors, I was doing a sort of vague English accent and it wasn’t really Obi-Wan’s voice at all,” he says. “So, I went back and did some homework with Alec Guinness and what I’d done before in the original films.”
Guinness emerged as a key guide for McGregor, especially in terms of recapturing Obi-Wan’s trademark quips. “Alec Guinness had this wit behind his eyes all the time. He had a twinkle,” says McGregor. “I always try to think of him and try to…hear him saying the lines.”
Much of that comes down to the fact that in Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor plays the man at a time when he is closer to Guinness’ rendition than McGregor’s own version in the prequels. A Kenobi defined by his solitude and sorrow. “The Jedi order is all but destroyed and those who aren’t killed have gone into hiding and they can’t communicate with one another,” he notes. “In a way, he’s lost his faith. It’s like somebody who’s stepped away from their religion or something.”
This is also an Obi-Wan who believes his former padawan and brother, Anakin Skywalker, is dead. The show’s two-episode premiere reveals the moment Obi-Wan discovers that Darth Vader lives on. This scene primes audiences for the long-awaited on-screen reunion between McGregor and his co-star Hayden Christensen.
Speaking about his and Christensen’s relationship, McGregor remembers “we just were so close when we met the first time.” Shooting the prequels in Australia meant both were far from home. They bonded during the long lightsaber training sessions and found comfort in friendship off camera. Even so, McGregor says the two “slightly lost touch” over the years, so reuniting on set was “exciting.”
“When I saw [Hayden] again and was able to talk about this project with him, it was very, very exciting. It was great,” says McGregor. “And when we were acting together, it was really like some sort of time warp. Really like looking across at him on set was like the last 17 years didn’t happen at all, you know. It was really peculiar.”
McGregor also revealed that the emergent “fondness” for the prequels convinced him to return to a galaxy far, far, away. “I started realizing that people really liked them and that they meant a lot to that generation. So, that made me..that warmed my feelings about them,” he says.
It also reminded McGregor of his own relationship with Star Wars as a child when A New Hope (1977) first premiered. “I think I was six or seven when it came out. And I’ll never forget that feeling,” he says. “I mean that’s one of the crazy things about being in Star Wars now is that I’m in it, having been that little kid.”
When asked about the difference between making a movie in the vein of that original experience and this new approach of a mini-series, McGregor only had positive things to say. “The beauty of it being a series is that we’ve got longer to tell the story.” He went on to praise director Deborah Chow and “her singular vision throughout.’
Reflecting on why fans should be excited for Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor answered without hesitation. “You know, after a lengthy process of exploring some different storylines, I think we’ve ended up with a really, really brilliant story and one that will satisfy the fans,” he says. What is that story? You’ll just have to watch each Friday and find out.
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Devin McGrath-Conwell holds a B.A. in Film / English from Middlebury College and is currently pursuing an MFA in Screenwriting from Emerson College. His obsessions include all things horror, David Lynch, the darkest of satires, and Billy Joel. Devin’s writing has also appeared in publications such as Filmhounds Magazine, Film Cred, Horror Homeroom, and Cinema Scholars.