Rumor: Ewan McGregor Has Signed On To Return As Obi-Wan Kenobi (UPDATED!)

By: Dominic Jones

UPDATE: Where there's smoke, there's probably fire.  Two Hollywood insider publications, with extensive track records of getting this sort of thing right, have weighed in on this story.  First, Deadline is corroborating Cinelinx's original report that McGregor has signed on to reprise the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi for a live action series on Disney+.  Meanwhile, The Holywood Reporter stops slightly shorter than Deadline or Cinelinx, reporting that McGregor is "in negotiations to reprise the role in a Kenobi-centered series for Disney+."  Obviously, we'll all be watching this story develop with great interest.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Another happy landing. We may be on the verge of seeing Star Wars prequels star Ewan McGregor return to the galaxy far, far away in the not too distant future. Cinelinx is reporting that McGregor has signed on for a new Star Wars project, which is believed to be a new live action series coming to the Disney+ streaming service, which launches later this year.  Cinelinx editor-in-chief Jordan Maison also speculates that the timing of the deal being signed may have to do with Disney wanting to announce the project at D23 Expo, which kicks off in just over a week in Anaheim.

An Obi-Wan Kenobi project, starring McGregor, is something that has been on many fans wishlists ever since the announcement that new Star Wars movies were coming back in 2012.  It appears to be something that Disney and Lucasfilm were interested in as well, given that there have been several false-starts in getting the project off the ground.  It was initially reported that a Kenobi film was in development from The Crown director Stephen Daldry.  Following the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the subsequent rethinking of the Star Wars release schedule, it appears that the film has been reworked into a live action series.

This would be McGregor's second return to Star Wars in the Disney era.  The actor made a vocal cameo in The Force Awakens.  He can be heard during the Force-back scene, telling Rey that, "These are your first steps."

If this all comes to fruition, a Kenobi show would be the third live action (and fourth overall) Star Wars series to come to Disney+, after The Mandalorian, the untitled Cassian Andor series, and the seventh season of The Clone Wars.  A surprise appearance from McGregor at D23 would be huge, and a nice way to get fans hyped for the post-sequel trilogy content.

As enthusiastic as I am by the prospect of McGregor reprising his role as Kenobi, I'm still holding off on getting too excited about it until it's officially announced.  There have been many Kenobi rumors in the past (some of which were from reliable sources, and some from not-so-reliable sources), that I just want to see the headline on StarWars.com (or McGregor on stage in Anaheim) before I let myself really start looking forward to it.  Hopefully, we won't have to wait too much longer.

As always, this is just a rumor until confirmed or denied by Lucasfilm or Disney.

Source: Cinelinx

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