While Ewan McGregor has previously said that no one has reached out to him about reprising the role of Obi-wan Kenobi in one of the STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY films, the Scottish actor wants to be clear that he would not say no to such a project. At the recent Edinburgh Film Festival, McGregor was asked about the upcoming STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. He said he was happy to be a part of the STAR WARS legacy and feels J.J. Abrams and company have “nailed it” with the upcoming seventh film.
When asked about a potential stand-alone film focused on Obi-wan, McGregor had this to say.
“I’d be happy to do the story from episodes three where I finish up and Alec Guinness [who played the older Kenobi in the original Star Wars movies] starts.”
Many have assumed that Kenobi’s years between Episode III and IV was spent monitoring the growth of Luke Skywalker. A hermit living alone on Tatooine, there could have been countless adventures yet unexplored in the STAR WARS mythos. With the extended universe now reset, they could easily make a new film with McGregor. Sir Alec Guinness was 63 when he starred in the original STAR WARS which puts McGregor still two decades shy, giving a lot of creative storytelling space.
The STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY series has so far only formally announced STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE from director Gareth Edwards. With several more in development to potentially focus on everyone from Han Solo to Boba Fett and even Yoda, there is no reason we couldn’t see an Obi-wan Kenobi movie. The only issue would be in finding a story worth telling.
STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE opens December 16, 2016.