Ewan McGregor is back as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but will the ‘limited series’ return too?

When the first teaser trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi dropped, there was notable absence of a certain Dark Lord of the Sith. We are suitably excited for Ewan McGregor’s return, more Tatooine, a young Luke and Jedi hunting inquisitors. However, surely the show’s main attraction is the promise of another showdown between Obi-Wan and his former apprentice.

Now, thanks to an extensive article in Entertainment Weekly, there’s a first glimpse of Darth Vader:

In the lengthy feature, written by Dalton Ross, Ewan McGregor talks about the “mind-blowing” experience of playing Obi-Wan. He also enthuses about the positivity he gets from engaging with fans:

“Now I meet the people who we made those films for, who were the kids of the time, and our Star Wars films are their Star Wars films. In the way that Carrie Fisher and Alec Guinness and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford’s films were ours, we’re theirs. And that’s beautiful that they were important to the kids who we made them for. It’s just so nice to finally get that wave of positivity about them.”

He also talks about the dawn of the project, originally considered as a standalone film, with Stephen Daldry in the frame to direct. This, of course, was before Solo’s underperformance at the box office. The piece tells of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ups and downs before the show settled with writer Joby Harold and director Deborah Chow.

The return of Vader

Executive producer Kathleen Kennedy explains that the return of the series’ big bad was not necessarily a done deal. Opinions differed within the team, and they were mindful the intense levels of scrutiny either decision would provoke. Writer Joby Harold talks about the responsibility:

“It was a priority to all of us that we did it with as much care as possible, so as to honor one of the greatest villains and antagonists in the history of entertainment.”

For his part, actor Hayden Christensen says being on set as Vader again was a surreal experience, but also a good one:

“The first time that I saw Ewan as Obi-Wan again, that was a very special moment for me, and one that I’ll remember for a very, very long time.”

Second Season Potential?

As to the question of more, Deborah Chow seems pretty certain that there won’t be:

“It was definitely conceived as a limited series, and it is one big story with a beginning, middle, and end. The approach has always been that it is one full story.”

However, Kathleen Kennedy (who ultimately has far more of a say) possibly leans another way:

“It’s certainly something we talk about, mainly because everybody came together and had such an incredible time.”

But she also concedes:

“Why would we do it? If we were to decide to do anything more with the Obi-Wan character, we’d have to really answer the question why?”

Obi-Wan Kenobi launches on Disney+ on Wednesday, 25th of May. Expect to hear lots more in the mean time!