Ewan McGregor on returning as Obi-Wan: "I'm going to enjoy it all much more"
The actor is expected to reprise the role in a new series next year.
Ewan McGregor expects to enjoy filming his Disney Plus Obi-Wan Kenobi series more than he did the Star Wars prequels, due to technological advancements that have been made in recent years.
The actor first played the iconic Jedi in 1999's The Phantom Menace and reprised the role for its two sequels, released in 2002 and 2005 respectively.
It has been well documented that George Lucas' prequel trilogy was filmed using vast amounts of blue screen, where actors perform in mostly empty sets which backgrounds and enemies are digitally inserted into later.
In an interview with ACE Universe, McGregor said: "I'm just going to enjoy it all much more... It was technically quite complicated, I remember. It was all blue screen and green screen. It was hard to imagine it [the surroundings]."
That won't be the case for his long-awaited return to the character, which he expects to be filmed with the same cutting-edge technology used for The Mandalorian, where detailed projections allow performers to see exactly where they are in a scene.
He added: "Nowadays, things have moved on so much and I think a lot of what you see is going to be what we see on the set... I think it's going to feel realer for us, the actors. I don't know if you've seen any of the behind-the scenes Mandalorian series, but they employ that incredible screen and I don't even begin to know how it works, but it's pretty amazing.
"So when you're on set, if you're in a snowscape or something, well when you look around you see that and it makes you feel like you're in the place. It's going to feel realer for us."
If you want a better insight into what McGregor is talking about, be sure to check out Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian on Disney Plus, which features exclusive footage of the impressive new screens in action. Here's a trailer:
The actor went on to discuss potential names for the as-yet-untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series, mentioning "Hello There" as his favourite option, which is a reference to his popular line from Revenge of the Sith.
McGregor said: "That would be fun. That would get my vote. But we'll see, I don't know yet what it's going to be called."
Disney's Obi-Wan series is expected to start filming early next year, assuming that working conditions can be made safe enough to stop the spread of coronavirus.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
