Ewan McGregor Reveals 'Star Wars' Prequel Criticism "Was Quite Difficult" For Him
It is no secret that the Star Wars prequels weren’t very well received by all Star Wars fans. George Lucas wasn’t the only one who took in the harsh criticisms. Recently, Obi-Wan Kenobi himself Ewan McGregor, told The Hollywood Reporter how hard it was for him to see the how the prequels were being received by fans all over the world.
"[It] was hard they didn't get well received. That was quite difficult. They were universally not very much liked."
One can imagine how hard it was for the actors and the filmmakers to see something that they dedicated hard work, time, and love to, and then see it being ripped apart by the fans. McGregor also told The Hollywood Reporter how hard it was for him to work under blue screen stages.
"After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious — especially when the scenes are … I don't want to be rude, but it's not Shakespeare. There's not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when there's no environment there. It was quite hard to do."
During the prequel era, George Lucas wanted to use many ways to test new technologies, while making his prequel trilogy. The use of blue screen was a way to make every background into the planet, the room, or any environment George wanted. Although this was the beginning of the use of CGI environment, and was a huge step into film and technology, this angered the Star Wars community, as many said the films looked way too fake, and that they missed the practical effects from the original trilogy.
McGregor also talked about the dialogue. He, as well as other actors in the saga, has mentioned how the cheesy dialogue made it hard for them to perform while the cameras were on, especially with full blue backgrounds. The actor also spoke on how this will be different in the upcoming series Obi-Wan Kenobi, where he’ll return to portray the role of the master of the high ground himself, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The series will be using the new Stagecraft technology, which was seen first in Disney+’s original series The Mandalorian. The Stagecraft technology allows for full computer generated backgrounds to be shown in present time, while the actors are performing. This brand new technology renders realistic CGI backgrounds in real time, and allows the filmmakers to have control of daylight and nightlight, without ever leaving the film stage.
When we first saw the technology being used, some of us thought they were using the regular blue screen background. But when it was shown that it was a full render background in real time, everything changed for the best. The Stagecraft technology also allows the actors to have something to look at, as well as something to reach while performing.
Ewan McGregor has now assured us that this same technology will be applied to the brand new Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which will be premiering in 2022. Star Wars fans are speculating that we may see some amazing worlds, including recognizable places from the prequel era, and maybe some from the original trilogy as well. Might we even see Mustafar again? Fans have speculated that we will see the fiery planet where Kenobi defeated Vader, perhaps even another confrontation between the two there.
McGregor, like the fans, seems to be hoping that the new Kenobi series will redeem the prequel era of Star Wars, and show us the darkness of the Imperial era. Even if McGregor suffered the wrath of the fans during the prequel era, we are more than sure that the new Kenobi series will change the prequel era, and for the better.
Source(s): The Hollywood Reporter