Ewan McGregor Hopes He’ll Play Obi-Wan Kenobi Again

Way back in 2019, after a lot of rumors and dropped hints, the news was finally made official: Ewan McGregor would be returning as Obi-Wan Kenobi, the character he’d played in the Star Wars prequels, in a Disney+ series created around the character’s pre-A New Hope time on Tatooine. The show premiered in 2022 and was generally well-received, but wasn’t a pop culture sensation in the manner of Andor or The Mandalorian. Still, given the character’s popularity, McGregor’s obvious delight in playing him, and the questions the show left behind, it’s almost surprising that Obi-Wan Kenobi has yet to get a second season.

And while McGregor—speaking to Variety on the occasion of his star being added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame—has no news to share in that department, he still speaks about Obi-Wan Kenobi in the present tense. “I loved, more than anything, getting to know Alec Guinness’ work because I was playing him as a young man,” McGregor told the trade. “Even now with the series, that’s my personal challenge—if a take feels a bit like him, I’m happy.”

His time playing Obi-Wan goes all the way back to 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, but it sounds like McGregor is ready to keep exploring the character. (At 53, he’s just under a decade younger than Guinness was in A New Hope.) “I really do hope we get a chance to do another one,” he told Variety.  “Between where we ended off in the series and when Alec Guinness comes on screen with Luke Skywalker, I think there’s another few stories to tell in there.”

Hayden Christenen, whose tenure as noted Obi-Wan associate Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader kicked off in 2002’s Attack of the Clones and most recently included 2023’s Ahsoka, would love to team back up with McGregor. “If it means that I got to do more with Ewan, then that’s a no-brainer, but I really hope that he continues with the character. Just as a fan, it’s so exciting to get to watch him play Obi-Wan—he’s just so good at it.”

If a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi seems unlikely at this point, it’s worth remembering that there’s also been no official announcement regarding the show’s future—something Lucasfilm and Disney+ did not hold back on regarding, to name another Star Wars show, the recently concluded Acolyte. As of now, it appears to still be a possibility, especially since McGregor is so enthusiastic about the idea. Would you be in favor of an Obi-Wan Kenobi return?

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