The world is anticipating the return of Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor as Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Disney+ series, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s the most excited I’ve been in a while for a Star Wars series since The Mandalorian, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to blow everything else out of the proverbial water.
It’s been a minute since either of these men has played arguably their most famous roles, so they needed to prepare. Both Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi were complicated characters who have been sitting with the traumatic events of Revenge of the Sith for years by the time the new show starts.
You might be wondering, how does one prepare for a role they’ve done before? Well, it’s pretty much the same as what any fan does before the next movie or show comes out: go back and watch again!
Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor binged Star Wars to prepare for Obi-Wan Kenobi
While talking to Entertainment Weekly, McGregor shared that he watched all the old films, even the ones that didn’t have Obi-Wan in them. The only ones that didn’t make the cut were Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story. “I watched them from start to finish,” McGregor said. “All nine movies. Just to get back in that world.”
Interestingly enough, McGregor hadn’t watched any of the prequels since they were first released. “So it was cool to see and interesting to watch them and enjoy them without all of the noise that was around when they came out,” he said. McGregor also started reading science fiction just to get back into a Star Wars headspace.
Hayden Christensen did pretty much the same thing, with one important difference: “I went back and rewatched all the films,” the actor said. “And I also got into the animated shows, The Clone Wars and Rebels.”
If you haven’t watched either of these shows, I highly recommend it because it gives so much backstory to Anakin and even makes the early 2000s prequels a bit more enjoyable to watch. You really get an in-depth look at who Anakin is leading up to the day he officially transforms into Darth Vader. There are nuances of Anakin that you watch develop as he shifts over to the Dark Side, it’s a long slow slide we really come to understand.
“They did a lot with these characters in those shows,” Christensen said. “And they did further explore the relationship. There was interesting stuff there to learn about. It was great fun getting to go back and re-immerse yourself in this world that just continues to grow and become more and more vast.”
I couldn’t agree more! This world is so huge and there is so much to glean from the shows and movies. I can’t imagine a better way to get back into the swing of things than to go back and rewatch everything. I’ve actually been doing the same and it’s been glorious!
Hayden Christensen may appear as Darth Vader in the upcoming Ahsoka series as well. Fans of The Clone Wars know that Anakin was Ahsoka’s teacher; their relationship is an integral part of the series and I’d love to see it revisited.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot wait for this series, it’s been a long time coming and I’m so glad we’re only t-minus one month and some change away from it. The show premieres on May 27; you won’t want to miss it, trust me!
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