'Kenobi' Star States Series Is 'Really Going To Satisfy Star Wars Fans'

Here Is Hoping That It Lives Up To The Hype.

By Culture SlatePublished 2 years ago • 3 min read

Of all of the numerous Star Wars shows coming up on Disney+, none have the hype behind them that the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries does, outside of maybe the upcoming third season of The Mandalorian. The six-episode miniseries will focus on the titular character after his self-imposed exile on Tatooine after the events of Revenge of the Sith but before A New Hope.

As one would hope, the titular role is being played by Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan during the controversial prequel trilogy released between 1999 and 2005. If there is one thing about the prequels that even die-hard Star Wars fans agree on, outside of John Williams's music, it was McGregor's stellar performance as the Jedi we have all come to know and love from the original trilogy. While he did not have too much to do in The Phantom Menace, he really shone in the two subsequent films where he got to be the main character. As such, he was a natural fit when it came time to cast the live-action series for Disney+.

His return to the role added to the hype that maybe, finally, the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi would meet his full potential outside of the original trilogy. Well, after hearing McGregor himself speak, it sounded like we would be getting just that. In an interview with Forbes, he discussed the new series, and what it was like being back in the role:

"Oh my gosh, well I loved playing him again. I mean it’s quite interesting, after the experience of making the first three films and living through sort of their reception in the world, which wasn’t always glowing, I have to say. And then now, meeting the generation who we made those films for, the children then - and now, people in their late teens or early twenties, those people who were kids who we made those films for, they loved them. To them, they’re their Star Wars films, you know? For us, it was the original films of the ‘70s, but for them, it was our films were their Star Wars. So to step back into his shoes again now and do a series, a whole series about Obi-Wan Kenobi for those fans, it just makes me really happy."

He then went on to discuss what it was like actually working on the series itself, and one or two hints of what we might get:

"I think it’s no secret that Hayden Christensen comes back and we got to play scenes together again as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker and it was just fantastic to work with him again. I’m not going to give away anything else about the storyline, only I think it’s really going to satisfy Star Wars fans. I always felt there was a story between Episode III where I finished playing Obi-Wan in the movies and Episode IV where Alec Guinness is Obi-Wan Kenobi. The [Obi-Wan Kenobi series] writers and Deb (director Deborah Chow) and I and everyone, I think we crafted or they crafted a very fine storyline. I think people are going to like it.”

If anybody truly understands the character of Obi-Wan, it is McGregor. He had played him much longer than the original actor, Alec Guinness, at least in terms of screen time. He had the opportunity to dive deeper into the role than even George Lucas considered. With Lucas directing the prequels, McGregor probably did not have a ton of wiggle room to completely make the character his own. Now that he has more freedom to work on it, we might be seeing more nuances to the character than Guinness’ portrayal.

We have obviously gotten Obi-Wan outside of the main series before, such as with The Clone Wars television show. Now we get to see him carry a series himself. If McGregor has seen what is coming up and says that the famously hard-to-please fans will like it, there should be a lot of trust that he knows what he is talking about. Obi-Wan Kenobi will start airing on Disney+ on May 25, 2022. Here is hoping that it lives up to the hype.

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