Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Featurette Chronicles Ewan McGregor Return

As we loom closer to the premiere of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney+ released a featurette called A Series of Firsts that chronicles star Ewan McGregor’s return to the role of the Jedi Master and title character. It starts off showing highlights of the film that started the Star Wars franchise, A New Hope (1977), highlighting Obi-Wan’s original actor. “The first time I got to watch ‘Star Wars’, I was pretty blown away,” McGregor said. “Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi did some of the most amazing work. To play him as a younger man…I was really excited about it.”

Ewan McGregor’s Star Wars Journey from A New Hope to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Following the closing shot of the first theatrical Obi-Wan-Vader duel, we start seeing some highlights of 1999’s The Phantom Menace starting with some behind-the-scenes highlights. “The first big experience for me was going to the studio where we shot ‘Episode I,'” McGregor said. “The props master brought up a big chest, and he looked me in the eye and he opened it up, and I got to choose Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber. So that was a moment I’ll never forget.” The featurette then cuts to McGregor Obi-Wan alongside Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn battling battle droids before we cut back to more BTS highlights in the film’s climactic battle with Darth Maul (Ray Park) in front of a green screen.

“The first lightsaber work we did was when we fight Darth Maul,” McGregor said. “That was an amazing thing to be part of. It was incredibly intricate, we were just going so fast. It’s quite unlike any other filmmaking I’ve done.” It closes out featuring some familiar highlights of the upcoming Disney+ series as his journey comes full circle. “The first time I got dressed up as Obi-Wan again, it was a special moment. The wonder of Star Wars and the excitement of playing Obi-Wan Kenobi, it’s really quite something.” The series, which also stars Rupert Friend, Hayden Christensen, Maya Erskine, Joel Edgerton, Kumail Nanjiani, Moses Ingram, and Bonnie Piesse, premieres on May 27th.