'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Star Promises "a Dream" Come True For Original Trilogy Fans - Inside the Magic

Star Wars fans have been clamoring for an Obi-Wan Kenobi-centric series for years. Although Sir Alec Guinness originally played the legendary Jedi Master in George Lucas’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Ewan McGregor cemented the character’s legacy for a new generation in the prequel trilogy, which released between 1999 and 2005.

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In Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), many Star Wars fans found McGregor’s portrayal to be a bright spot in a trio of films that, at least at the time they originally hit theaters, were not widely acclaimed.

In the ensuring years, however, nostalgia has reigned and the fandom is now thrilled to see McGregor reunite with Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

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While specific details of the series are being kept under wraps, which is par for the course for the Star Wars franchise on Disney+, we do know that the show will follow Kenobi’s exile on Tatooine about eight years after Revenge of the Sith and the execution of Emperor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) Order 66.

It has long been known that Darth Vader’s Inquisitors will make their live-action debut in Obi-Wan Kenobi and that we will see the origin of the Jedi Knight’s time looking after young farm boy Luke Skywalker from afar.

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In addition to McGregor and Christensen, Bonnie Piesse and Joel Edgerton are set to reprise their roles as Luke’s Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen Lars, while newcomers like Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Sung Kang will join the Star Wars story for the first time.

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Friend recently spoke out about his Star Wars universe debut as the live-action incarnation of the Grand Inquisitor. When Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts, Vader, of course, is expected the hunt for his former Jedi Master and has presumably dispatched his harshest Inquisitor to find the man who survived the Great Jedi Purge.

The Inquisitors play a key role in Dave Filoni’s animated Star Wars Rebels series, but, as previously noted, have not been seen in live-action previously.

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In his latest interview, Friend shared that fans of George Lucas’s original trilogy will be elated about the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi:

“If it’s possible to be any more excited than folks already are, I would be. I think [the series] is one of the most thrilling additions to the Star Wars canon. I think Ewan McGregor is doing things with that role that is a dream for fans of the original films. You know, we can’t obviously have Alec Guinness back, but I just think Ewan was absolutely born to play that part. And wonderful cameos from people I obviously can’t tell you, but Easter eggs galore… Yeah, it’s a thrilling ride.”

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Among the cameos Friend referred to may be the return of Princess Leia (Vivian Lyra Blair) and the reported appearance of droid bounty hunter 4-LOM, who originally appeared in the iconic “bounty hunter scene” in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980).

Alongside IG-88, Dengar, Bossk, Zuckuss and Boba Fett, 4-LOM was one of the six bounty hunters hired to find the Millennium Falcon in ESB. Although he has not appeared onscreen since 1980, the droid has been featured in several comic book runs, including “Star Wars“, “Darth Vader”, “Bounty Hunters”, and, most recently, “War of the Bounty Hunters.”

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Drawing from the events of the original trilogy is a refreshing change for Star Wars fans who have been frustrated by the focus on the sequel trilogy era at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and in other recent Disney Star Wars projects.

It is, however, worth noting, that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s Mandalorian saga is set about five years after Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) and has reintroduced Jedi Master Luke Skywalker (CGI Mark Hamill/Graham Hamilton), filling in the lost years between the end of the original trilogy and the start of the sequel trilogy 25 years later.

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first two episodes debut on May 27, 2022.

Are you excited to see McGregor and Christensen return?