Obi-Wan Kenobi series will feel “more real” than the Star Wars prequels
By Dan Selcke
Ewan McGregor has been away from the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi for over 15 years, since Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith released back in 2005. But he’s returning for an Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries on Disney+, and this time, things are going to be different.
Although they’ve had a revival in recent years among people who grew up with them, the Star Wars prequels were famously criticized by fans back in the day, and McGregor remembers how trying it was. “[It] was hard they didn’t get well received,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “That was quite difficult. They were universally not very much liked.”
It sounds like they weren’t particular fun to make, either. “George [Lucas] loves technology and loves pushing into that realm,” McGregor said. “He wanted more and more control over what we see in the background.”
"After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious — especially when the scenes are… I don’t want to be rude, but it’s not Shakespeare. There’s not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when there’s no environment there. It was quite hard to do."
I love the light going on here, although of course he’s right. “Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!” “From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!” Shakespeare it ain’t.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi show will feel “much more real” than the Star Wars prequels
McGregor can’t say anything about the dialog on the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show, but thanks to the StageCraft technology pioneered on The Mandalorian, acting the part feels much more dynamic. “They project [the virtual backgrounds] onto this massive LED screen,” he explained. “So if you’re in a desert, you’re standing in the middle of a desert. If you’re in the snow, you’re surrounded by snow. And if you’re in a cockpit of a starfighter, you’re in space.” Overall, McGregor expects the series to feel “so much more real.”
“I’m really excited about it,” the actor continued. “Maybe more so than the first ones, because I’m older — I just turned 50 — and I’m just in a much better place.” As for plot details, he’s staying mum. Considering that the series follows Obi-Wan between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, might we see a young Luke Skywalker turn up? “That’s very possible,” he teased. “I don’t know.” Sure you don’t.
Production on the series is ongoing, and although McGregor had to take a minute off thanks to some side effects of his coronavirus shot, it sounds pretty intense. “For months, we’ve been doing these monster, two-and-a-half-hour sessions of sword fights and hand-to-hand stuff,” he said.
There’s no release date for the Obi-Wan show as of yet. I’m sure Disney will find a place for it somewhere in between all the Star Wars shows it has in development.
Next. See Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Targaryens in House of the Dragon. dark
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels