Ewan McGregor has revealed what it was like doing screen tests for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
The “return of the Jedi” is getting a whole new meaning now that the Obi-Wan Kenobi series production is nearly in full swing. While they haven’t technically begun filming yet (Ewan McGregor says they should begin filming in the spring), they have begun to do a few camera tests.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi actor revealed this on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Star Wars News Net), and it sounds like McGregor is having a great experience stepping back into the Star Wars universe.
In the interview, McGregor shared his excitement for coming back, specifically saying he’s happy that he gets to explore the character again in a series rather than a movie. With it going to stream on Disney+, that, of course, means they’ve got plenty of room to explore Obi-Wan’s character and go in-depth with him in ways we’ve never seen before. Here’s what McGregor had to say on this subject:
"I really am very excited about it. It’s been a long time coming. I mean we’ve been talking about doing it, Lucasfilm and Disney, I dunno for four, five, maybe more years and it’s just taken a while to come to fruition. I am excited about the fact that it’s a series as opposed to a movie, it gives us more space, and mainly I am excited about it because of The Mandalorian series which I just thought was really good, and we’re going to adopt some of that technology that they utilized in that filming and I’m working with Deborah Chow who directed some Mandalorian. I’m really excited about working with her, I think she’s really good. We did a couple of tests. When we were going to make a film earlier we did some testing and it was great working with her."
It’s interesting to know that they’re using The Mandalorian technology. And presumably, he’s talking about the Volume. This is a gigantic screen that allows filming to be done indoors on a set, and you don’t have to worry about going to a location to film because you can bring virtually any location right before you. And, as one of The Mandalorian’s visual effects supervisors told Dork Side of the Force, it cuts out the amount of uncertainty that comes with greenscreen shooting as well.
Additionally, the actor shared just how it felt to get back to set and assume the role once again:
"It was funny walking on set because it was a lot of The Mandalorian crew and I walked on, and for it was a big moment, I walked into the dressing room and there were my beige cloaks and my belts and boots and it was like, oh my God, it was my old costume, it was amazing."
Even though filming is still so far away, it’s exciting to know that Ewan McGregor has already put on the robe and is reacquainting himself with old Ben Kenobi. It will be bittersweet knowing that this time around, Anakin won’t be by his side. But hey, that’s what we have The Clone Wars for.
For more Obi-Wan series news, keep up with the Disney Plus category on Dork Side of the Force.