OBI-WAN KENOBI Star Ewan McGregor Breaks Silence On Liam Neeson's Return And Luke Skywalker's Scrapped Role

OBI-WAN KENOBI Star Ewan McGregor Breaks Silence On Liam Neeson's Return And Luke Skywalker's Scrapped Role

Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor has talked more about original creative plans for the Disney+ series, while also sharing his first comments about getting to reunite with Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn.

By JoshWilding - Aug 16, 2022 01:08 PM EST
Filed Under: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Source: SFFGazette.com

There was a time Obi-Wan Kenobi was being developed by Lucasfilm as a movie trilogy, though we've already heard a fair bit about how different those films would have been to the six-part TV series that wrapped up on Disney+ a couple of months ago. 

Clone Commander Cody would have played a role, for example, while we'd have also seen "Ben" battle an evil Luke Skywalker in a terrifying vision. Talking at Fan Expo Boston this past weekend (via ComicBook.com), star Ewan McGregor confirmed that the Jedi Master's journey alongside the young Princess Leia once looked very different.

"It was going to be a story about me and Luke [Skywalker]," the actor revealed. "It was always going to be that, and that was one of the genius moments where everyone went, 'Wait a minute,' and then changed it."

McGregor would go on to explain that he was pleased no major story details from the show leaked online prior to its release (there were some, though most appeared to be based on the movie script). He said, "I think it's really cool that Disney and Lucasfilm care so much for the fan experience. They really want you to have a 100% experience the first time you see it, and if you've read that, and that leaked, and this came out, it's just a bit of a shame isn't it?"

Later, the actor would comment for the first time on getting to work with Liam Neeson again. The actor returned as Qui-Gon Jinn for a reunion between the Jedi Master's Force Ghost and his former Padawan. 

"Liam is a hero of mine," McGregor said. "Liam has got to be, I don't know, ten years, maybe a bit more, older than I. So when I was growing up and wanting to be an actor, I was always watching Liam Neeson's work, and he was involved in some beautiful work as a younger actor."

"And so to get the chance to work with him and to have this great relationship that we got to create together is fantastic, and to get the chance to work with himself again on the series right at the end."

It was a special moment for fans, and one that ended the series on a high note. There continues to be chatter of a possible Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2, so perhaps McGregor and Neeson will once again get the opportunity to share the screen? 

All six episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi are now streaming on Disney+.

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thewanderer
thewanderer - 8/16/2022, 1:33 PM
Including Commander Cody is about the only thing I've read of the "original plan" that I would have liked to have seen them include.
BigMikeReviews
BigMikeReviews - 8/16/2022, 1:34 PM
Ewan is being very kind and generous about their age gap, they're almost 20 years apart.
GirshwinDavies
GirshwinDavies - 8/16/2022, 1:50 PM
@BigMikeReviews - I was like 10 years???!
BigMikeReviews
BigMikeReviews - 8/16/2022, 1:58 PM
@GirshwinDavies - Haha I did a double take as well. I just looked it up, Ewan is 51 and Liam is 70.
GirshwinDavies
GirshwinDavies - 8/16/2022, 2:11 PM
@BigMikeReviews - And now I feel old!
UnderBelly
UnderBelly - 8/16/2022, 1:38 PM
Was cool to see Neeson again, but in the end it was just another cool moment that didn't hold too much weight. Had the story and direction been more engaging they would have landed so much better.

Hopefully if they do a season 2 they'll change up the writers and director And then maybe they can let it rest.
Origame
Origame - 8/16/2022, 1:40 PM
Yes it was gonna be about the story of obi wan and Luke, until someone had the genius idea to instead do something completely contradictory to the plot of a new hope by making it about obi wan and Leia.
thewanderer
thewanderer - 8/16/2022, 1:44 PM
@Origame - it would have made no sense to be about Obi-Wan and Luke. Luke barely knows Obi-Wan in A New Hope. He just thinks of him as an old hermit that lives out in the desert that he sees in town from time to time. It would make no sense for them to have had much of a prior relationship.
BobGarlen
BobGarlen - 8/16/2022, 2:17 PM
I felt the show was aweful. I disliked the character of Young Leia a lot. The actress was fine but they made the character way to annoying and dumb even for a child. I thought it was a mistake to take Obi-Wan from Tattooine. The imperial characters didn't feel very in-line with the OT. While she is a wonderful actress from what I've heard Moses Ingram was given little too nothing to work with and her character was aweful.

The whole series felt like a lazy cash grab and didn't really show much soul to me. The only highlights were the Vader scenes but even then it makes me wonder why he did stuff here and not in the OT or Rogue One. The "I killed Anakin" speech felt too conviniant for the show and while I did like it, it felt very forced.

Also, they clearly had no idea how to end the "climactic" battle between Vader and Kenobi. Kenobi not knowing Vader lived felt overtly silly. I know he's a hermit but we know he occasionally went to Mos Eisely and you're gonna tell me he never heard anyone complain or afraid of The Empire and mention Vader?

The series really let's being a prequel be a detriment and not a positive. Ewan deserved a better show in my opinion. They really should have had him focusing on his training and use the failure as Anakin as the block that prevented him from being able to achieve one-ness with the Force.

Overall the show hurt my interest in Star Wars.
MachinimaMan
MachinimaMan - 8/16/2022, 2:24 PM
@BobGarlen - Pretty much how I felt watching the show too.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 8/16/2022, 2:25 PM
@BobGarlen - you told no lies
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 8/16/2022, 3:08 PM
@BobGarlen -
GhostDog
GhostDog - 8/16/2022, 2:27 PM
Liam shot his scene from his front yard clearly
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 8/16/2022, 2:37 PM
There is only so much they could do if the story centered around Luke, so I think making this a story about Kenobi and Leia was a nice surprise.

Seeing Neeson as Qui-Gon was less of a surprise, but it was still great to see him return anyway.
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