May The Force Be With Ewan! Why Disney Should Give McGregor An Obi-Wan Spinoff
Now that Ewan McGregor has voiced his enthusiasm for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi again, Disney should make it so. The actor, who's out promoting Jack The Giant Slayer told MTV News that he thought reprising his role as the Jedi Master was "a good idea" and had clearly done some thinking about where an Obi-Wan standalone movie could fit into the about-to-be-rebooted Star Wars franchise — the gap between Episode III and IV "before Alec Guinness, there's that period where he's in the desert....That might be my window there, to tell that story." McGregor said that he didn't know what Obi-Wan actually did in the desert, but added: "We could make up some stuff."
Actually, there are plenty of sanctioned Star Wars stories that cover Kenobi's time in exile in the Tatooine desert — some of which have him communing with the spirit of his mentor, Qui-Gonn Jinn (who was played by Liam Neeson in Episode I) — so the writers wouldn't have to star from scratch. But even if there wasn't all that material out there, bringing McGregor back is an excellent idea.
Although I'd love to see Harrison Ford finally get his Han Solo death scene, Disney clearly wants these new Star Wars movies to appeal to young demographics, and there's nothing musty or dusty about McGregor. He's one of the finest actors of his generation, and, with the exception of the emotional climactic scenes of Episode III, his talents were largely wasted in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. An Obi-Wan standalone movie could not only right that wrong but add a cinematic backstory to the character that would give Guinness' performance in Episode IV even more dramatic heft.
What do you think, Star Wars fans? Let me know in the comments, and while you're mulling it over, here's the clip of McGregor voicing his enthusiasm for picking up the lightsaber again.
Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
Ewan McGregor and Star Wars - excellent combination. Make it so, Disney.
Isn't there a story where Darth Maul didn't really die and goes to Tattooine to kill Luke and Obi-Wan kills him for good? They should do something like that.
It's almost comical how little the headline of this article matches the content of this article.
Maybe it was too subtle. It was definitely too long, so, I changed it. Hope you like this one better.
Given the opportunity to spin off any part of the Star Wars films, choosing to spin off the *prequels* feels... wilfully perverse.
You make a good point, but given how important Obi-wan is in the Star Wars mythology, his character is woefully underdeveloped. McGregor and a great screenwriter could fix that in a single feature.
What a fan*freaking*tastic idea. I'd buy that.
I think ewan is a great choose to great to do a stand alone movie as obi-won he is young enough and if they do yoda they should tell what odi-won also did during his time in exile.
Can you imagine a Obi-Wan film of his adventures in the desert but also with flash backs to unseen events of the clone wars and his training. There is so much to work with.
Those truly are excellent ideas! I concur and agree completely!
I would watch McGregor as Kenobi in any number of films they could choose to make. The "police detective" aspect of Kenobi in the prequel trilogy, especially Episode II, was fantastic. Something along those lines seems appropriate. Perhaps Kenobi hunting down some lost Jedi lore while remaining "under the radar" seems like a doable venture. Bring on the Jedi mind tricks! Kenobi was never a "flashy" character, but there was certainly more flash to him in the prequel trilogy, and fleshing out his master of the Jedi-in-hiding during an adventure seems like a plausible delivery to whatever plot would be created. Perhaps even an "emergency" visit to a certain swamp planet with a strange little green man could be worked into it. Checking in on the Organa family on Alderaan might be interesting. Give us an appreciation in pictures for the beauty and culture of Princess Leia's "homeworld". It would make the events of Episode IV that much more gut-wrenching.
However, filling an entire Star Wars film as a spin-off gives me the shivers. You definitely can water-down a good thing, and Disney strikes me as being a risky trustee to the Star Wars saga, but Lucas did what Lucas did, and we must accept what is and will be. The Expanded Universe has a plethora of material for future films, if they are done appropriately AND if they don't completely alienate those of us who have been rabid followers of Star Wars since Episode IV. Of course, like Marvel and DC, they could decide to wipe all that away with the sweep of a hand in order to create a "new" or "alternate" Expanded Universe where they will be free to license Star Wars out like Lucas did. In fact, if they did not do such a thing, they would not be acting in the best financial interests of their shareholders.
And that would be simply tragic. Whether that is creating a new Expanded Universe or not acting in the best financial interests of shareholders, I'll leave for you to decide.
Initial reaction: To not have an Ewan McGregor/Kenobi solo film would be...highly illogical - after some thought: do whatever has to be done to make this happen.
Obi Wan's apprenticeship to qui gon = the primo spinoff possibility!
After that, further exploration of obi's existence in exile would be most welcome !!
Ewan mcgregor was PERFECT as obi wan, the force is surely strong in that one..
Would love to see it, they may even bring Obi-wan`s decision to bring Ferus Olin back into the mix as a potential storyline. Honestly, the Star Wars Universe is so huge they could really make a trilogy based on Obi-wan`s exploits during his exile.
Episode 1 should have been a Obi Wan movie with Anakin being a secondary character who is only introduced and carries on through the next two prequels. 2 and 3 were kenobi movies and were actually quite good. 1 was the weak link and would have been so much better if it were more mature and less about a 9 year old kid who acts like he has the maturity of your average four year old.
I read the book "kenobi" and it was a great story. I believe the idea of Ewan coming back to do a solo as kenobi is a great idea. You have my vote. It would fill in the blanks for a lot of people who are stuck in limbo on his life in exile.
Hello! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established
blog. Is it difficult to set up your own blog? I'm not very techincal but I can figure
things out pretty fast. I'm thinking about creating my own but I'm not sure where to begin. Do you have any
ideas or suggestions? With thanks
Yes!!!! please, I vote a million "yes's" for an Obiwan stand alone movie. And only Ewan, no one else. 🙂 I like Yoda, Boba Fett and Han, but would only rent those on DVD. Obiwan...I would go see in the theater many many times (but only Ewan ok Kathleen?)