Ewan McGregor watched The Mandalorian to prepare for his own Star Wars show Obi-Wan Kenobi. Alec Guinness of course originated the role of Kenobi, the wide old Jedi wizard, in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope. McGregor came on board as the younger version of Kenobi for George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels and many argue his performance as the Jedi Master was one of the much-maligned trilogy’s few bright spots.
Now, Lucasfilm and Disney are preparing to again revisit the character of Obi-Wan in a series set to stream on Disney+. Unfortunately, things have already gotten rocky for the new project as the show’s shooting has been delayed. Reportedly, Kathleen Kennedy herself was responsible for creating the delay when she raised objections to the show’s scripts, forcing rewrites. McGregor himself recently came out to reassure audiences that despite the delay, Obi-Wan will reach their screens on the original release date (which has not as yet been made public).
In an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote his role as Black Mask in the upcoming DC movie Birds of Prey, McGregor again addressed Obi-Wan, albeit briefly. When discussing his preparation for the role, McGregor talked about another Disney+ series that he has watched in order to help him get into the Star Wars vibe.
McGregor’s mention of The Mandalorian of course immediately prompted Fallon to joke about the actor playing Baby Obi-Wan in the new show. McGregor picked up on the bit and joked about the show using Irishman-like deaging technology to turn him into an infant version of the Jedi Master.
“I’ve been watching The Mandalorian. I liked it. I really liked it. And I’m just trying to keep abreast of all the new Star Wars films that come out. And I’m excited about it. It’s been a long time. I can’t remember when the last one I did. 2003 I think was the last one I did. ”
Of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi has no known plans to reveal a baby version of Obi-Wan, despite the wild success of the Baby Yoda character from Mandalorian. Interestingly though, it has been reported that Kennedy and Lucasfilm rejected the scripts written for Obi-Wan precisely because they were too close in story to Mandalorian, even including young versions of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. So perhaps McGregor and Fallon’s jokes about Obi-Wan using tricks from Mandalorian weren’t so far off base after all.
Whatever Lucasfilm and company do have in store for fans with Obi-Wan Kenobi, it’s going to be awhile before audiences get a chance to see the show, as it isn’t set to go before cameras until at least January of next year. With the film franchise seemingly at a crossroads after reaction to Rise of Skywalker, shows like Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi and even the upcoming Cassian Andor series may end up playing a huge role in keeping the Star Wars torch lit, so a lot is riding on their being able to make fans happy.
More: Every Star Wars TV Show Coming To Disney+ After Mandalorian
Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
