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Ewan McGregor Set To Return As Obi-Wan Kenobi In Disney+ Series
Deadline ^ | August 15, 2019 | Dino-Ray Ramos, Geoff Boucher

Posted on 08/15/2019 5:13:39 PM PDT by EdnaMode

Ewan McGregor is picking up his lightsaber again. The 48-year-old Scottish actor will reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a yet-to-be-titled Disney+ series, Deadline has confirmed.

Details about the series following the Jedi master are being kept under wraps. McGregor played the younger version of the wise but irascible Star Wars icon in the three prequel films: The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). McGregor also revisited the role to make a voice-only cameo in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Alec Guinness introduced the role of Ben “Obi-Wan” Kenobi in 1977 in Star Wars, the original installment in George Lucas’ space opera, which was later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope. Kenobi was struck down in that first film during a heart-wrenching light saber confrontation with Darth Vader aboard the huge space station called the Death Star, but the old Jedi wizard returned as a disembodied voice or spectral vision in the film’s two mega-successful sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).

Guinness died in 2000 after a storied acting career that included roles in The Bridge on the River Kwai, Dr. Zhivago, Kind Hearts and Coronets, as well as Lawrence of Arabia, the David Lean-directed epic that both Lucas and Steven Spielberg have described as a North Star influence on their own bodies of work. By casting Guinness, Lucas wisely imported the gravitas of that epic career into his Jedi universe but the actor himself was famously unimpressed with the filmmaker’s interstellar saga, which the British stage veteran dismissed as “fairy tale rubbish.”

McGregor inherited the beloved role with all the major pressure and smothering legacy that goes with any generational pivot-point in the fantasy saga, which long ago transcended blockbuster franchise status to become almost a quasi-religion (or pathological retail obsession) for millions of fans. McGregor delivered in a big way, adding dimension and depth to his character even when the often wonky dialogue did him no favors on either front.

McGregor had made a name for himself with memorable turns in compelling indie fare like Trainspotting, Brassed Off, and Shallow Grave, but the 1999 global relaunch of Star Wars took him to a new strata in his career. He would add notable successes with films such as Moulin Rouge, Black Hawk Down, Angels & Demons, The Ghost Writer, and Beginners, and this he will be seen in the role of Black Mask in the Birds of Prey film and in Doctor Sleep, in which he portrays the grown-up survivor of the Overlook Hotel massacre depicted in The Shining.

All Star Wars films will be available on the Disney+ platform.

The new Star Wars series will join the previously announced The Mandalorian from Jon Favreau and starring Pedro Pascal. That series takes place years after the events of Return of the Jedi and follows a lone Mandalorian gunfighter on the volatile rim planets beyond the reaches of law and order. The series will debut on November 12, the Disney+ launch date.

Disney+ will also have a Star Wars spinoff series starring Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk reprising their Rogue One characters Cassian Andor and K-2S0. Stephen Schiff will serve as showrunner.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: disney; disneyplus; ewanmcgregor; lucasfilm; mcgregor; obiwan; obiwankenobi; starwars
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To: mewzilla

Robot Chicken Star Wars is hilarious.


21 posted on 08/15/2019 6:30:14 PM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: Steely Tom
> Idea based on a 40-year-old movie.

Which in turn is based on a story arc as old as mankind ...

22 posted on 08/15/2019 6:59:46 PM PDT by SecondAmendment (This just proves my latest theory ... LEFTISTS RUIN EVERYTHING!)
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To: EdnaMode; mewzilla
I agree...the Robot Chicken version of the "I am your father" is awesome.

Since I can't find a gif of that, here is the next best thing...


23 posted on 08/15/2019 8:51:08 PM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
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To: DoodleBob

LOL. That’s very funny. :D


24 posted on 08/15/2019 9:05:01 PM PDT by EdnaMode
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To: EdnaMode

So glad my kids are old enough now to see movies alone. I can now go the rest of my life without another Woke Wars movie.


25 posted on 08/15/2019 9:49:19 PM PDT by Dagnabitt
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To: EdnaMode

Its getting to be like this, Disney is in debt and is making too many bad deals with the devil so to speak. Homealone and now Diehard remakes, probably a man hating version.
They totally screwed up Galaxies Edge into nothing but a billion dollar themed mall, priced out conservative deplorable families instead targeting the wealthy liberal families instead. They don’t want frugal spending guests.
Not getting any of my money i don’t think.


26 posted on 08/16/2019 12:31:54 AM PDT by Daniel Ramsey (Thank YOU President Trump, finally we can do what America does best, to be the best)
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To: EdnaMode

Looking forward to it. I hope Obi Wan and Yoda team up for a buddy movie ala Tango and Cash


27 posted on 08/16/2019 6:21:07 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (Trump 2020)
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To: Secret Agent Man

You were right about that from what I’m reading about it - not that it would have been a surprise.

Completely blows up the continuity of the series as well with total disregard to established canon - just like most Disney Star Wars.


28 posted on 06/09/2022 2:57:36 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
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To: EdnaMode

The Disney cartel is Pervert Central. If you watch it, you’re supporting perversion.


29 posted on 06/09/2022 3:02:28 PM PDT by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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