Ewan McGregor Once Had Reservations About Becoming a ‘Star Wars’ Actor for Life

Ewan McGregor has quite a busy time ahead of him. The actor is returning to the world of Star Wars in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, which landed him a spot in the Vanity Fair June cover to promote the upcoming Disney+ slate for the franchise. But one thing that McGregor was very open about was the fact of his past reservations about joining the franchise at all.

Back when McGregor was originally cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was known for his work in the 1996 movie Trainspotting. He was in a different world of cinema from the world of Star Wars, but we know that he ended up accepting the role anyway.

“I really questioned it a lot,” he said. “I felt like I was part of this new wave of British cinema, really, and that Star Wars wasn’t me, that’s not what I stood for. I was this sort of urban, grungy, independent film actor.” And much like the actor who originated the role, Sir Alec Guinness, McGregor struggled with being a part of the series and looked down on it a bit after The Phantom Menace got poor reviews. “It was hard because it was such a huge decision to do them, such a big event. It was quite difficult for all of us to deal with that, also knowing you’ve got a couple more to do.”

The poor reviews led to a lot of struggle for the prequels and those who love them. I should know; they were for my generation and something that many of us still defend, but now, there’s a renewed love for those movies, and particularly for McGregor’s Obi-Wan and Hayden Christensen’s arc as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.

Feelings change

For years, McGregor would say that he’d have another go at Obi-Wan, but as he puts it to Vanity Fair, it was just good politics, and the real question came when Lucasfilm asked him outright about it. One of the things he admitted, though, was that there was a change in him and his appreciation for the role and the franchise. He was asked to announce one of the Star Wars movies at a screening of the entire franchise, and he did so and realized how much people love them, and it changed the way he thought about being an active part of the franchise’s fandom. The reason for his change of heart was simple: “I really do think it has to do with growing up.”

Now, it seems as if McGregor has continued to embrace his Star Wars legacy. He said that, when he was asked to join the new show, he told the then-head of the story for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kiri Hart, “I would be happy to do it again,’” but more than that, McGregor is now in the Star Wars franchise as a family affair. There were rumors that Mary Elizabeth Winstead was joining the Ahsoka series alongside Rosario Dawson and Hayden Christensen, and then Ewan McGregor confirmed that casting in the Vanity Fair piece.

“My partner, Mary, is doing that Star Wars series with Rosario and she’s about to start,” he said. “Our little boy has been born into this massive Star Wars family. He will either embrace it or really go the other way. I don’t know. Maybe he’ll be a Trekkie!”

(featured image: Lucasfilm)