Dork Side of the Force
Fansided

Star Wars: Recasting the original and prequel trilogies for the 2020s

By Patches Chance

Brie Larson/Will Smith/Tom Holland. Composite: Dork Side of the Force.
Brie Larson/Will Smith/Tom Holland. Composite: Dork Side of the Force. /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
21 of 25
Next
Michael Fassbender
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 04: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been processed using digital filters) Michael Fassbender attends the premiere of 20th Century Fox’s “Dark Phoenix” at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 04, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images) /

21. Michael Fassbender as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Earlier we’ve already seen Nicolas Cage chosen to fill the role once owned by Alec Guinness as Old Ben Kenobi, but there’s an entirely different era of Obi-Wan Kenobi that was seen in the prequel trilogy. Before finding his way to Star Wars, Ewan McGregor first made his impact felt with a performance as heroin addict Mark Renton in Trainspotting.

However, his career was not the behemoth it is today when he first took on the role of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace. McGregor went on to score major roles in later years for Black Hawk Down, Moulin Rogue!, Angels & Demons, Mortdecai, Doctor Sleep, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), and even reprised his role as Mark Renton in T2 Trainspotting.

While his mark has been made several other places, his impact as Obi-Wan Kenobi was lasting, and McGregor is even slated to return to the role in the upcoming series Kenobi. When looking at today’s landscape, an optimal choice as a young (and slightly older, but not old) Obi-Wan Kenobi would be Michael Fassbender.

Fassbender is most well-known for portraying Magneto, or Erik Lehnsherr, in the 2014 reboot of the X-Men franchise. Fassbender delivered strong performances in the role through each film, even when they didn’t quite deliver as a whole (Apocalypse). He would give a different, but still European flavor to a young and aging Obi-Wan Kenobi that could be a fresh look in a recast of Star Wars.

Home/Star Wars Films