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Ewan McGregor is desperate to return to Obi-Wan Kenobi: "I want to spend the rest of my career doing these stories"

The Scottish actor explained he has a decade until he is the same age as Alec Guinness was for A New Hope.
Ben Lyons Senior Editor 12 August 2026

When Ewan McGregor dusted off his lightsaber to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Disney+ series of the same name, many wondered whether this would mark a major return for the character. Was it time to really learn what happened to Obi-Wan between the period of handing over baby Luke Skywalker to his uncle and aunt and before he broke his solitude in Episode IV - A New Hope as an old man. But alas, Disney hasn't been all too interested in exploring these untold stories too much.

McGregor however is desperate to return as Obi-Wan, and in a recent media appearance on the red carpet for The End of Oak Street, he effectively told E! News he is ready to return to a galaxy far, far away as soon as Disney is ready and that he wants to take advantage of the next decade while he is biologically still a decade younger than Alec Guinness was when he appeared in A New Hope.

"I'm ready whenever they are. They just seem to not be ready, but I'm up for it.

"At the end of the Obi-Wan series, I'm walking off into the desert, I've decided to leave. I've realised I can't keep the pressure on Luke. I realised he has to have his own childhood, so I leave him with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. And I wander off... and Qui-Gon's back. And we go off... but where are we going? And then the next time we find Obi-Wan Kenobi, he's Alec Guinness up in the mountains.

"What happens between those two moments is what I want to do and spend the rest of my career doing these stories. Stories, you know, series or movies. We've got plenty of time; I've got 10 years before I am Alec Guinness' age. So come on, Disney!"

https://x.com/enews/status/2086860245117358195

There are official stories exploring Obi-Wan's exile between the events of Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, but aside from the Disney+ series, the majority of these are books and comic books. So there is plenty of material to adapt should Disney finally want to take advantage of McGregor while he is biologically the perfect age for the tales.

Would you like to see McGregor return as Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Senior Editor Ben was a Senior Editor at Gamereactor UK. When he wasn’t writing, editing or filming for Gamereactor, he could usually be found playing an FPS or getting lost in a sprawling RPG.
Full profile Gamereactor author since October 2020 · 18,577 published articles
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