Ewan McGregor reveals whether he'd return to the Star Wars franchise

He's been a Star Wars staple for over two decades.
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"A Gentleman in Moscow" Premiere Event in NYC / Roy Rochlin/GettyImages
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Ewan McGregor is, to many people, simply Obi Wan Kenobi. He's been playing the character since 1999, and regardless of how you feel about the Star Wars prequels, the general consensus seems to be that McGregor nails it as the sage Jedi.

Part of the reason why McGregor is so effective as Kenobi is that he genuinely loves the role. He has spoken ad nauseam about the pressure of taking on the character after Alec Guinness' iconic turn in the original Star Wars trilogy, but he managed to make the part his own while still tipping his cap to the late Oscar winner.

McGregor would be thrilled to return as Kenobi

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Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Image credit: StarWars.com /

McGregor reflected on his Star Wars legacy during a recent interview with Variety, and naturally, the topic of returning as Kenobi came up. The actor recently reprised the character in the Disney series Kenobi, but with no second season in sight, McGregor's tenure is in a bit of flux.

Fortunately, the actor wants to keep going. McGregor told Variety that he feels there are plenty more stories to tell with Obi Wan Kenobi between the events of the Disney series and the original 1977 film:

" I really do hope we get a chance to do another one... I think there’s another few stories to tell in there."

McGregor wants to mature with the character

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Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in Lucasfilm's OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved. /

McGregor noted that he would be excited by the challenge of getting his appearance and manner even closer to Guinness', given how much closer he is to portraying the character at the same age. "Even now with the series, that’s my personal challenge," the actor admitted. "If a take feels a bit like him, I’m happy."

The aforementioned series was originally envisioned as a standalone film a la Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), so it remains to be seen what form a continuation of the Kenobi would take. McGregor is ready to go, though, as is his prequel co-star, Hayden Christensen.

In discussing McGregor for the Variety profile, Christensen asserted that he would be more than happy to reprise his character of Darth Vader if it meant fleshing out their dynamic in a meaningful way. "I really hope that he continues with the character," the actor added. "He’s just so good at it."

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