‘Star Wars’: Ewan McGregor Slated to Return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Disney+ Series — Reports
The force may, once again, be with Ewan McGregor.
The 48-year-old Scottish actor is currently in talks to reprise his role as sage Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in a yet-to-be-titled Disney+ series, according to Deadline and multiple other sources. McGregor, who has not appeared in a “Star Wars” film since 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” portrayed the younger version of Obi-Wan in “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones” as well. McGregor also lent his voice to an offscreen cameo in J.J. Abrams’ 2015 revival “The Force Awakens.”
The role of world-weary, wise Obi-Wan was originally played by Sir Alec Guinness in 1977’s “A New Hope,” in which Obi-Wan sacrificed himself to his former student, Darth Vader, in order to allow Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca to escape the evil Empire’s Death Star.
Disney+ is Walt Disney Studio’s new original streaming platform, set to unveil on November 12 of this year. The streaming destination will soon be home to such animated series as Disney Channel’s “Star Wars Resistance,” which unveils its second season this October, as well as a host of other properties including upcoming Marvel series.
McGregor was previously rumored to come aboard the project this month. The untitled, McGregor-starring series is the third “Star Wars” show announced yet for Disney+, which hopes to rival such streaming giants as Netflix and to welcome a new generation of audiences into a galaxy far, far away. Kudos to fan sites such as Cinelinx, who had tabs on this development early on — fan site Fantha Tracks has also received a tip that McGregor will be directing several of the episodes.
Disney+ and Lucasfilm are currently in production on the “Star Wars” bounty hunter spinoff, “The Mandalorian,” honing in on the race of warriors first inspired by the original George Lucas-led trilogy’s Boba Fett. The series will center on a mysterious Mandalorian, played by Pedro Pascal (of “Game of Thrones” and “Narcos”), and is set to debut on Disney+ in November, timed to the platform’s launch. “The Lion King” director Jon Favreau serves as showrunner.
Meanwhile, Disney+ is also lining up a still-untitled Cassian Andor prequel, with Diego Luna reprising his “Rogue One” role as the cool-headed Alliance Intelligence officer, opposite Alan Tudyk, and “The Americans” writer Stephen Schiff serving as showrunner.
Expect upcoming “Star Wars” Disney+ series news to be revealed officially at the D23 Expo in Anaheim later this August. IndieWire will be on the ground reporting from the Expo, beginning August 23.
