Kumail Nanjiani will spend the next few weeks doing the rounds to promote Eternals, but he also recently wrapped shooting Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney+. Rolling Stone asked the actor about that during a recent interview, and while he didn't give too many specifics way, he did say that his part in the long-awaited TV series is a "substantial" one.
"I talked to [director Deborah Chow] and we had a great conversation," Nanjiani said of joining this Galaxy Far, Far Away. "And the character sounded awesome - I was so excited about this character. We haven’t seen this exact thing in Star Wars yet. This is like a new version of a type of Star Wars character we’ve seen before. And she was trying to sell me on it. And I was like, 'I was gonna do it before the conversation!' It was kind of perfect."
That doesn't exactly narrow things down, and the actor could be playing one of the few surviving Jedi, a Sith Inquisitor, or...well, we're not sure there's even any point speculating as we don't know! Either way, it sounds like Nanjiani is very excited about being part of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Later in the interview, the Eternals star said that the show was his first post-quarantine job and pointed out that it was "just the most joyful first job back possible."
"I didn’t know how I could beat the experience I’ve had, which is a Marvel movie with Chloé Zhao, who is amazing, and maybe the greatest cast ever assembled, and then have Obi-Wan as the next thing, with another really fantastic cast," he said. "Ewan McGregor! Really? I don’t know where I go from there. And so I decided to walk into the middle of the woods."
We're definitely looking forward to seeing more from this one and details on Nanjiani's role will hopefully be shared soon. Whether we get news and a trailer before the year is over largely hinges on whether Disney and Lucasfilm plan to focus primarily on The Book of Boba Fett from here.
Eternals is set to be released in theaters on November 5. There's no word on a premiere date for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but there have been rumblings it will hit Disney+ on May 4, 2022.