With director Deborah Chow’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series arriving on Disney+ this week, I got to speak with Ewan McGregor about returning to the Star Wars universe. If you’ve been reading Collider for a long time, you might remember back in March of 2016, I asked McGregor if he was interested in playing Obi-Wan Kenobi again. When I brought it up, I was thinking it would be a movie, since Disney+ didn’t exist. He told me:
“I’d very much like to do one too. I think the story between Episode III and Episode IV, I think there’s a story there. I think that’s the Obi-Wan Kenobi movie, if there is one. The one that bridges my Obi-Wan Kenobi and Alec’s Obi-Wan Kenobi because there’s a—I don’t know how long he’s in the desert there, but it’s got to be twenty or thirty years.”
When I asked him if he’d met with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, McGregor replied:
“I’m not sure I’m at liberty to say, really, but I’m very interested in doing that. That would be great. Maybe there’s even a trilogy! (laughs)”
Shortly after posting the interview, I saw his quotes everywhere. It seemed like everyone was in agreement that Ewan McGregor coming back and playing Obi-Wan Kenobi was a fantastic idea. While we’ll never know if that interview helped make the Obi-Wan series happen, I’d like to think at least a few people at Lucasfilm saw it and noticed the positive interest from fandom.
Anyway, during my latest conversation with McGregor we talked about that interview, the chances of continuing the Obi-Wan Kenobi story beyond the six episodes in the series, why he was so impressed working with Deborah Chow, and how the series feels like one long movie.
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Watch what McGregor had to say in the player above, or you can read our conversation below. Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives on Disney+ May 27.
COLLIDER: How are you doing today, sir?
EWAN MCGREGOR: How are you, Steve? We've done interviews for years, haven't we?
We have. And it's funny you mentioned that because I want to specifically talk about one. You will not remember. It was March of 2016. And I asked you about your interest in coming back to do an Obi-Wan something. At the time, I was thinking a movie. It got a tremendous amount of traffic. It got picked up everywhere. And in the interview, you literally told me your idea for what ended up being the Obi-Wan series. Literally, in that interview, you're, "This is..." Anyway, I want to know, how long have you been talking to Lucasfilm about making this?
MCGREGOR: That must have been before I was talking to them, because once I started talking to them, I wasn't able to talk about it anymore. So maybe we did our interview just before. It came about because I was always asked, like you asked me, "Would you play him again?" And I started thinking that it might be a good idea, that there must be a great story between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. But that's interesting that we spoke about it. That's so funny. I think I remember. I think I remember maybe not our interview, but the aftermath of it.
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Oh, it was everywhere. It was one of those interviews where I was, oh, this went really well for both me and the possibility of you coming back. So, it's being billed as a six-episode limited series. And I'm asking this question of you as the executive producer. If it is a hit, people love it, is there a possibility for more? Or is it we're just going to do the six episodes?
MCGREGOR: Well, at the moment, we're just doing the six episodes. It was very much set up and made to be a limited series. So, that's how it stands at the moment. Listen, if it does very well and Disney are excited about the prospect of doing another one…I loved doing it. I loved working with Deborah Chow. I loved working with the new technology. And I thought our scripts were really good. And I feel like the experience of doing it with the crew who were so passionate about it. So many Star Wars fans in the crew of Star Wars projects nowadays that it makes the experience really exciting. So, I'd be totally up for doing more. But I can guarantee, at the moment, it's just a standalone thing.
Of the six episodes, do you have a favorite?
MCGREGOR: Yeah, I've got some favorite moments.
So, there's not one full episode. It's more like moments?
MCGREGOR: Yeah. They're really strong. I've seen them all, and I really like them all. I'm pretty blown away by Deborah Chow, to be honest. I knew she was great from The Mandalorian, but you imagine tackling, directing every episode of this and with the weight of the fandom on your shoulders. She's done an amazing job. Really an amazing job. And I can't pick one. The beautiful thing about it is that, because we have Deborah as our director for all of them, it just felt like we were shooting a movie. If we'd had different directors for each episode, then it would've felt more episodic. Because Deb's singular voice goes through them all, it did feel like just one long movie. And the episodes fall naturally within the story, but it is one driving narrative from start to finish. So therefore, there isn't really a favorite episode.
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I cannot wait to see this series. And I'm already out of time; I can't believe it. Hopefully I can talk to you again for this at another point.
MCGREGOR: Yeah. Maybe I'll see you down the line.
Thank you so much for your time, and I'm so happy you made this.
MCGREGOR: Cheer, man. Take care.