Obi-Wan Kenobi — now that’s a reputation informal Star Wars followers haven’t heard in a very long time. The Jedi grasp will get his personal second within the suns with a brand new six-part Disney Plus Hotstar collection starring Ewan McGregor.
It’s set midway between George Lucas’ two trilogies: 10 years after Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which marked McGregor’s final look because the character, and 9 years earlier than the late Alec Guinness made his hooded, howling entrance as Ben Kenobi in Episode IV: A New Hope.
Ewan McGregor stated he all the time stored the honored Guinness in thoughts throughout manufacturing. He listened to Guinness’ dialogue on a sound file in his dressing room and took extra time after scenes have been filmed “just to do a little extra Alec Guinness-y take – just to make sure.”
“It’s got to feel like him. I studied him in that movie,” the 51-year-old actor stated. “I’ve always got to be somebody who ends up becoming Alec Guinness at the end of the day.”
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A Kenobi mission that includes McGregor has been in improvement for years, initially as a movie with Stephen Daldry hooked up to direct. That was tossed within the scrap heap after the comparatively meager field workplace returns of 2018′s Solo: A Star Wars Story. With the launch of Disney Plus Hotstar the subsequent yr, Lucasfilm pinned its hopes on a streaming collection. (Kenobi was additionally featured within the animated collection The Clone Wars, which ran for seven seasons and is now on Disney Plus Hotstar.)
Filming befell final yr totally on Industrial Light & Magic’s technologically modern Los Angeles-area soundstages, the place large LED screens create digital worlds that encompass performers.
As with the hit The Mandalorian, additionally filmed there, producers have stored most particulars cloaked in secrecy. But right here’s what to search for as the primary two episodes premiere on Friday.
WHAT’S KENOBI UP TO?
“I will take the child and watch over him.” That was Kenobi’s plan for Luke Skywalker on the conclusion of 2005′s Revenge of the Sith. Luke and Leia’s mom died simply after their beginning, and Jimmy Smits’ regal Bail Organa adopted Leia. Kenobi introduced Luke to reside with household on Tatooine, and that’s the place the brand new collection begins. Trailers present Kenobi on the desert planet with binoculars, 10-year-old Skywalker in sight. The child appears alright — for now. But be able to pack up that starfighter. The collection introduces a brand new planet to the galaxy: Daiyu, with a glowing city Hong Kong-like setting excellent for rooftop blaster shootouts.
Joel Edgerton, left, and Moses Ingram in a scene from the collection Obi-Wan Kenobi, premiering May 27. (Disney+ through AP)
WHICH VERSION OF KENOBI IS THIS?
“You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!” Kenobi ended Episode III failing to sway his padawan away from the darkish facet — then slicing off Anakin’s limbs and leaving him in flames. He’s torn with anguish and remorse, even earlier than he is aware of Anakin grew to become Darth Vader. But Episode IV finds Kenobi chill, in management, Zen. That mindset shift is vital to Kenobi, stated director Deborah Chow: “How did he go from the banks of Mustafar to the calm of Sir Alec Guinness? Something obviously happened there, between those 20 years. So for us, in large part, that was why we felt we actually had a story to tell.”
WHO IS ON THE DARK SIDE?
Trailers set up Jedi-hunting Inquisitors, performed by Rupert Friend, Sung Kang and Moses Ingram, as the important thing antagonists. But don’t neglect Vader. Chow needed to incorporate the black-suited villain to up the stakes for Kenobi. “Emotionally, so much of the weight that he’s carrying is coming primarily from what happened with Anakin. So everything kind of kept leading us back to that,” she stated.
WHITHER VADER?
A lightsaber duel rematch appears fated. It’s unclear whose voice audiences will hear, however Hayden Christensen once more dons the black helmet for the function. “That costume comes with such a presence,” he stated. “You put it on and it just informs so much the way you feel. And for me, it was very sort of cathartic in a way too just because this is a character that has meant a lot to me and has sort of stayed with me over the years — and getting to come back and continue with it was an emotional experience.”
WHO ELSE IS AROUND?
Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse reprise their roles from the prequels as Owen and Beru Lars, Luke’s aunt and uncle. Expect different established characters to make as-yet-unannounced appearances in both the principle story or by flashbacks, used closely within the different reside motion Star Wars collection. Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano, starring in her personal upcoming collection, will nearly definitely drop in. Could we see a “Force ghost” model of Kenobi’s instructor Qui-Gon Jinn, performed by Liam Neeson? A younger Leia with Smits’ Organa? Chewbacca or Darth Maul? They’ll quickly reveal themselves to viewers.
