Ewan McGregor Had To Lie A Lot To Star Wars Fans
The biggest surprise to come out of the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is how much of a direct sequel it was to the once-maligned "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.
Sure, everyone knew that both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen were reprising their roles as Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker, but for prequel fans, the loving embrace of the series (and its many Easter eggs) is something they never thought would be a reality. Until recently, it seemed as though these films would simply be given up to history, left to be buried under the sands of Tatooine. Truthfully, though, the response to the George Lucas-directed trilogy seems to have gotten better over the years. And looking back, while the movies were divisive, it's also true that "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones," and "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" were all major box office successes for their time (per Box Office Mojo).
When it comes to "Obi-Wan Kenobi," like any "Star Wars" property, there was a certain level of secrecy that had to go into the development. This secrecy led to series star Ewan McGregor having to walk a tightrope in numerous interviews, and in retrospect, it's clear that the actor was outright lying to "Star Wars" fans for years, back when he couldn't divulge details about the project.
Ewan McGregor admitted to lying about Obi-Wan in interviews
No matter what project Ewan McGregor promoted over the years, the actor was almost always asked about the possibility of returning to the world of "Star Wars." It was only recently, though — with the franchise back in full force, following the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney — that he was forced to lie about it. In an interview with Collider all the way back in 2016, for instance, McGregor said he'd be interested in a trilogy of films about Obi-Wan. It's obvious in the exchange that he's playing things coy, not sure what he can say.
This became clearer in later interviews, where the actor admitted he was being asked about a potential project while he was in discussions with Disney and Lucasfilm. "It's exciting because I can finally say that I'm doing it. It's been years of pretending that 'Oh, I don't know' because I get asked all the time, every time I do an interview, it always comes up. 'Would you do it again?' and there's all this speculation, and I had to just lie because the studio and the franchise, they want to keep it a secret," he told Conan O'Brien in 2019 (via Team Coco). The actor explained the awkwardness went further for him, because continually having to say that he was potentially interested in a new project started to feel like he was publicly auditioning for a part he'd already played in three films.
We all now know he was simply trying to protect the project, so perhaps we can forgive this Jedi for his deception.