In one week, Obi-Wan Kenobi is back.
The long-awaited and highly-anticipated return will happen on Friday, May 27 when the Obi-Wan Kenobi series premieres on Disney+. It features the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to the franchise, reprising their respective roles from the prequel trilogy. And as part of the promotion for the upcoming series, Star Wars posted a brief featurette on their Youtube page of McGregor reflecting on his time playing the character:
McGregor was cast by George Lucas to star as Obi-Wan for The Phantom Menace, which was released in 1999 as the first installment of the prequel trilogy and the return of the franchise to the big screen for the first time since 1983. In his role, McGregor had the unenviable task of replacing the legendary Alec Guinness, whose performance as the old and wise Jedi Master in the original trilogy became instantly iconic.
Not only did he manage to live up to those lofty expectations, McGregor exceeded all of them. His portrayal as Kenobi in the prequel trilogy was universally praised and became every bit as iconic, helping make Obi-Wan among the most popular characters in the entire franchise for Star Wars fans of all ages. He starred in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, and then had brief audio cameos in The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker. Now, he’s back in full, playing the character in this six-episode series, and it’s bringing back all sorts of nostalgia both for the fans and for the actors.
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