McGregor Breaks The Heavy Silence On Reuniting With Christensen
Disney Investor Day 2020 came with a boatload of exciting news about upcoming shows and films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar's ever-expanding roster of animated classics, and, of course, Star Wars. Indeed, no less than ten — yes, you read that right, ten — new series taking place in the beloved galaxy far, far away were announced. Since the company is riding on The Mandalorian's wave of success, it's easy to see why execs are placing so much faith in the franchise.
Among the most intriguing of these new projects is one that fans have been clamoring for as long as anyone can remember: a series focused on Obi-Wan Kenobi, the legendary Jedi who defeated Darth Maul (Ray Park), fought through the Clone Wars, and was betrayed and eventually killed by his own apprentice Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader. The story reportedly takes place ten years (ten really is the magic number, isn't it?) after the heartbreaking confrontation on Mustafar, between master and apprentice, in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
While not as outright surprising as some of the other shows announced, the news is more than welcome — doubly so because Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen are reprising their roles as Obi-Wan and Anakin-slash-Vader, respectively. Now that so much has been revealed, McGregor can finally speak, having remained contractually tight-lipped for what seemed like forever. And of course, he had something to say about reuniting with his old co-star, Christensen.
The Star Wars franchise is going from "Goodbye, old friend" to "Hello there"
Speaking at Disney Investor Day, McGregor remarked that Obi-Wan "has this one task left, which is to keep Luke [Skywalker] safe" (via ComicBook.com).
Between the events of the prequels and the original trilogy, Anakin has no idea that Luke even exists, and Luke is all but unaware of his own Force-sensitive nature. Obi-Wan carries both of these burdens on his lone Jedi shoulders, unbeknownst to either of them, making his presence on Tatooine (where Luke lives) as admirable as it is tragic.
Yet, for all that, McGregor himself couldn't be happier.
"The most beautiful thing of all is that it's brought me back together with Hayden," the Obi-Wan actor said. "It'll be amazing to bring those characters back together again, very unexpectedly."
Unexpected indeed, but the Force is a powerful thing; at some point or another, it would've brought the old friends back together from across the stars. Before their final duel in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, however? Now that's unexpected!
Series director Deborah Chow — who also directed two episodes of The Mandalorian — confirmed that the former master and apprentice will come to blows once again. Considering the fact that Vader's been off hunting Jedi and executing dangerous missions for Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) while Obi-Wan's been stuck on Tatooine, it'll be interesting seeing how the fight plays out.
"Having another swing at each other might be quite satisfying for everybody," McGregor said. "We hope that you enjoy it as much as we're going to enjoy making it."
McGregor's excitement at working with Christensen again is palpable, so viewers' enjoyment almost isn't even a question. Set photos and videos of the two actors spending time together can't come soon enough — and neither can the series itself.