Ewan McGregor reveals scrapped opening scene for 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

In Vanity Fair's latest interview with Adam Lance Garcia, Ewan McGregor took a trip down memory lane, re-watching Obi-Wan Kenobi, Trainspotting, and other works from his career.

McGregor went into great detail about his work on the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and revealed that initially, the first episode was meant to be way more depressing. According to McGregor, Obi-Wan would be shown working as a waiter in a bar:

"He's drinking too much. I got beaten up. People are kicking me, and I'm just taking it, then stalking out into the night. That was our first idea, anyway."

- Ewan McGregor on Variety.

This idea was scrapped, but Obi-Wan is still shown at his lowest when the series begins. He works in a meat factory, completely friendless and isolated from people. McGregor also discussed his time working on the Star Wars prequels and said that the reactions they received were "painful."

Years later, McGregor began to be repeatedly hounded with questions regarding his plans to return as Kenobi. The actor says that at that point, he hadn't even been contacted about a possible return. He did begin to warm up to the idea after noticing that fans had a genuine desire to see him return.

Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered in May 2022 as a limited series, and so far, there's no plan for a second season - although McGregor has expressed his interest to do more. While recounting his time on set during the making of the show, McGregor recalls the amount of love everyone on set showered with his co-star Hayden Christensen.

"It's a testament to the love people have for him that whenever Hayden came on set, there was just hundreds of people. You could have heard a pin drop. It was amazing. People were crying at the monitors. It was really amazing."

- Ewan McGregor on Hayden Christensen.

That's not all while re-watching his duel with Darth Vader in the finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor admitted that it wasn't supposed to be so emotional. But seeing Hayden as Darth Vader in the state he was in, battered and beaten, made it extremely emotional for both of them.

"But there was something about seeing Hayden and something about working with Hayden again in that state, that made me feel—it took me by surprise, as much as anyone else..."

- Ewan McGregor

People on set weren't the only ones who got emotional while watching Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's duel in the finale of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Most of social media was in tears over the heartbreaking confrontation that was built up over six episodes. Most fans who were critical of the series changed their minds after watching the final episode.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is streaming on Disney+ and you can watch Ewan McGregor's entire interview on Vanity Fair's YouTube channel.