Ewan McGregor Showing Off Muscle Gains for 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Series
When Obi-Wan Kenobi brought a baby Luke Skywalker to the Lars family homestead on Tatooine, he stayed in hiding nearby to keep watch over the future Jedi. For nineteen years he waited in the Jundland Wastes, becoming “Old Ben” Kenobi. We know from Uncle Owen’s comments in A New Hope and a glimpse at his life in the Marvel Star Wars comic series that in that timeframe he gained Lars’ distrust, and not much else. We will see more in the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, but haven’t you wondered what else Obi-Wan got up to with all of that free time on his hands? After a recent Instagram post, wonder no further. Obi-Wan got swole.
Legendary fitness trainer Tony Horton shared a photo on his Instagram of Ewan McGregor, who will be reprising his role as Obi-Wan for the upcoming Disney+ series. In the photo, McGregor stands flexing in a tank top that says “Run Hungry, Taste Victory,” and while he’s wearing a mask, it’s pretty clear that he’s smiling.
And who can blame him? He’s got bulging biceps, a pretty solid v-taper going... He looks to be in fantastic shape.
Horton accompanied the photo with a message:
“It seems that this Scottish fellow is starting to lean up and slim down. He hasn’t missed a day, and his diet has been spot on. This was day 16.”
Horton is best known as the creator of the P90X fitness program. It’s a fitness program that was designed to be done at home with minimal equipment, mostly using bodyweight exercises or light dumbbells. The program runs for 90 days (hence the name), with six workouts per week. Three of them are strength workouts (chest and back; shoulders and arms; legs and back), with some plyometrics, yoga, and even martial arts circuits mixed in. Just when you think you’re getting used to this and things are getting easier, the program pulls the rug out from under you and has you following a different weekly schedule.
It’s very effective, especially for those just getting into fitness. When I started my fitness journey, P90X kept me motivated and engaged. After my first round of P90X (paired with a major diet change and cutting out soda) I had lost 25 pounds.
It’s unclear what exactly Horton has McGregor doing, but it’s probably along the same lines: short rest periods, constant movement, and a clean diet.
So what does this mean for Obi-Wan Kenobi? Could McGregor’s training be preparing him for the rigors of intense action sequences? We know from Marvel’s (canonical!) Star Wars comics some of Obi-Wan’s experiences on Tatooine. Told across several issues, these “From the Journals of Old Ben Kenobi” flashbacks show that Kenobi’s life after his duel with Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith was anything but quiet. We see Obi-Wan defending the Lars homestead from raiders. We see him go head-to-head against Wookiee bounty hunter Black Krrstantan. Could we see these events, or similar ones, unfold in live-action?
There’s also the possibility with Hayden Christensen returning as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader that we may see Obi-Wan cross paths with his former apprentice. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy even said, “This will be the rematch of the century,” seemingly confirming the two are destined to cross paths (and lightsaber blades). It could be very interesting to see Obi-Wan realize exactly what his former apprentice has become, and see one more duel between them before their final (much slower) duel upon the Death Star.
There is another remote possibility for McGregor’s rigorous training: a Rocky-style training montage of Obi-Wan Kenobi rock climbing, running shirtless through the desert, lifting boulders overhead, trying to catch a womp rat with his bare hands. You heard it here first.
Source(s): Instagram