Ewan McGregor Questioned His Role As Obi-Wan In The Prequel Trilogy
Star Wars would be nothing without Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi Master trained both Anakin and Luke Skywalker. He played an essential part in both of their lives and is an important character in the bigger picture of Star Wars as well. Most recently, he's been portrayed by Ewan McGregor in the prequel films, which at the time got less than stellar reviews. This was so discouraging that Ewan McGregor even rethought his role as the beloved Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is an integral part of Star Wars. First, he was Padawan to Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and then master to Anakin Skywalker, and later helped train Luke Skywalker. He was an important part of the clone wars, being one of the first ones to see the clone army on Kamino, and meeting the iconic Jango Fett. He fought Anakin on Mustafar which led him to his demise, and the eventual creation of Darth Vader. After slicing Darth Maul in half in The Phantom Menace, after Maul killed Qui-Gon Jinn, he had a lifelong rivalry, and eventually killed Maul in the animated show, Rebels. After the events of Revenge of the Sith, he went into exile on Tatooine to watch over Luke. He's been hunted by the Empire ever since.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi, which debuts on Disney+ on May 27th, follows Obi-Wan and his time on Tatooine after the events of Revenge of the Sith. He is currently being hunted by the Empire, as he's one of the last remaining Jedi. Ewan McGregor wanted to play Obi-Wan Kenobi again, and luckily he's reprising his iconic role in the series. McGregor was asked if he would ever play Obi-Wan Kenobi again, and he always answered yes. Eventually, he was contacted by Lucasfilm, and asked if he was sure, and he still said yes. However, he wasn't always keen on playing the role of Kenobi. He spoke to Vanity Fair recently and said in the late 90s, he questioned the role a lot and considered himself an "urban, grungy, independent film actor" and that "Star Wars wasn't really for him". After the less than stellar reviews of The Phantom Menace, it was such a big event, and hard to deal with the aftermath of the prequels.
In 2017, he was relieved to put Star Wars behind him, until he was asked if he wanted to introduce one of the films at a marathon at the El Capitan theater. He was actually excited to do it, and he thinks it had to do with growing older. He also enjoyed the people camping out in sleeping bags, and how the kids that grew up aren't as cynical as the critics once were, and even like the prequels. He also realized that people "loved him as Obi-Wan, which made McGregor realize he did too".
Lucasfilm originally intended for the Kenobi show to be a movie, where McGregor would've been a producer and had more control over the story. Eventually, it involved to a Disney+ series, with Deborah Chow as the director, and the return of Hayden Christensen, McGregor's original costar in the prequels. Personally, I'm so glad his reservations went away, and that we get to see him as Obi-Wan again.
Today, we couldn't imagine Star Wars without Ewan McGregor. We are lucky to be getting a whole show about Kenobi, even though it wasn't always like that, especially because Ewan McGregor rethought his role after the prequel reviews. Luckily, he's seen that the generation that grew up with the prequels are nicer and that people love him as Obi-Wan. We're about a week away from Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I cannot wait to see Ewan (and Hayden) again!
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Source(s): Vanity Fair