Arts & Entertainment

Force is strong with Obi-Wan Kenobi series, as Ewan McGregor revisits role

By Guillermo Azábal

Los Angeles, May 26 (EFE).- Ewan McGregor’s announcement that he would reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi during a Disney event back in 2019 was met with rapturous cheers from the audience that, three years down the line, is in luck as the Jedi master is poised to return to screens on Friday.

McGregor oozed calm as he sipped his coffee and chatted with Efe about the making of Obi-Wan Kenobi just hours ahead of its release on Disney+.

“I really enjoyed it, I felt like we had longer to explore the character, it’s sort of a character-driven piece I guess, and taking Obi-Wan into a different place than we’ve ever seen him before, and because we had a six-hour window to tell that story it was really satisfying,” the Scottish actor said.

“Great fun to play him again, great to work with Deborah Chow, our brilliant director and for her to direct all of the series it really felt like we were just doing a long movie,” McGregor, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Episode 1 — The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode 2 — Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode 2 — Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Obi-Wan Kenobi is set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s apprentice, turns to the dark side to become Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen).

The details of the new show have been kept under close wraps but McGregor is certain it will not disappoint the fans.

“I think the work we did sewing a strand between Revenge of the Sith and New Hope, all of this stuff that people will recognize, will be very satisfying.”

The Trainspotting star added that it took him time to realize the impact the prequel trilogy had on fans.

“Realizing that there was this whole generation of kids, who are now young people, who love those films. For them, the films that I made with Hayden and Natalie Portman, are their Star Wars films in the same way the original trilogy was mine. That made me appreciate more the work that I’d done in the world of Star Wars and what it meant to other people,” he said.

McGregor added: “I think that Star Wars fans are some of the most passionate fans in the world for any franchise.”

Since its inception, the Star Wars franchise has pulled in over $10.3 billion, making it the most successful behind the Marvel universe.

New technology has revolutionized the way Star Wars movies — and in this case, a miniseries — are made.

“We have this huge LCD screen that surrounds the stage and if you’re doing a scene in the desert, everywhere you look is the desert, if you’re flying through space then space is flying past you out the windows of your spaceship,” he said.

“The technology makes it much more realistic for the actors, that’s a real step in the right direction.”

The first two of the six-episode miniseries will be released on Disney+ on Friday, May 27.EFE

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