Ewan McGregor Has Been Lying About Obi Wan Kenobi For Years

Ewan McGregor has gone on the record several times over the years to say he would be delighted to reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi if anything came up, but that he didn't know of anything on the horizon. As late as 2017, he was quoted as saying he hadn't met with anyone in any way about a formal return.

Turns out that was a big fat lie. McGregor successfully bamboozled the public for a long time, as he's known of a planned Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone for four years.

He revealed this little fact during an interview with Men's Journal just before going on-stage at D23 to make the big announcement of the Obi-Wan series. According to him:

"For four years, I've been having to lie to people about it."

Perhaps this shouldn't come as such a shock, though, as it's been reported for a couple of years that Lucasfilm was attempting to put together a project about Obi-Wan. Technically, the official reports from legitimate sources about the project have never said Lucasfilm was in talks with McGregor, though rumors have been swirling for months. Of course, he'd at least be aware the project existed after it got as far as picking up a director in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close filmmaker Stephen Daldry.

Until now, it would have been far too much of a commitment on Lucasfilm's part to announce any ties between McGregor and a project like this. Even if McGregor was only providing advice to a new Obi-Wan actor, fans would have flipped their lids even just knowing that he was working with Lucasfilm at all. For McGregor to actually star in an Obi-Wan Kenobi project? That would have made the Star Wars-loving, rumor-creating, opinionated public wild, so it was wise of the studio to keep things quiet until all the plans were locked in place.

McGregor's secrecy goes deeper than that, however. When talking to Coming Soon about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series' production cycle, McGregor revealed that the project was originally pitched as a single film. He shared:

"It wasn't always going to be a series, not initially. When we first started talking about, that wasn't really in the cards but everything's changed so much, so quickly. It's really exciting that it is now. I'm really into the idea to be able to tell the story over several hours instead of just one hit. I think it's going to be quite cool."

That admission implies that McGregor has been very aware of the project since well before Daldry was attached as director. Daldry has since exited the project, with The Mandalorian's Deborah Chow now directing the Disney+ Obi-Wan series.

Can you imagine a better comeback story? McGregor, a longtime Star Wars fan, got the job of a lifetime in the late 1990s when he was cast as the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Sadly, the legacy of the Star Wars prequel films has been lackluster at best. But more than a few fans would argue that McGregor's role was a rare gem that somewhat redeemed the trilogy. For him to come back to his career-defining role now in a solo production where he can call the shots as an executive producer must be a joy.

From what we understand now, it's clear that Lucasfilm, Disney, and specifically Kathleen Kennedy want McGregor's creative thoughts on display for nostalgia's sake. It's encouraging right out of the gate to know that the series will have creative input from the man playing the character. Keep watching the video to see how Ewan McGregor has been lying about Obi Wan Kenobi for years!

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