Rumor: ‘Star Wars: Episode 9’ Might Bring Back Ewan McGregor As Obi-Wan Kenobi
With the future ofStar Warsspin-off movies up in the air, some of the legacy characters from theStar Warssaga who were meant to get their own installments in theStar Wars Storybanner are left in limbo. However, a new rumor indicates that one of the characters rumored to have his ownStar Warsspin-off might make a return to the primary saga.
A new rumor, which should be taken with a huge grain of salt, indicates thatStar Warsprequel trilogy starEwan McGregormay secretly shoot a role forStar Wars Episode 9. That might sound ludicrous at first, but there are plenty of ways for Ewan McGregor to come back for the final installment of the Skywalker saga.
First of all, let’s just acknowledge that this rumor comes fromThe Sun, a notoriously gossipy tabloid. However, considering all the rumblings about Obi-Wan Kenobi’s return to the big screen and Ewan McGregor’s continued presence around theStar Warssaga, it doesn’t sound quite as unreasonable as you might think.
The details of what Ewan McGregor’s role as Obi-Wan Kenobi inStar Wars Episode 9might entail are almost non-existent. The Sun has merely heard from a source that McGregor will “secretly film” for the nextStar Warsmovie. So let’s talk about how this might be possible.
We know there was anObi-Wan Kenobi movie in the workswithThe Hoursdirector Stephen Daldry attached to direct. But apparently that movie, along with a film about Boba Fett,is being reconfiguredin the wake of the disappointing box office performance ofSolo: A Star Wars Story.
That project would have served as an interesting cover for the actor to shoot a role forEpisode 9, but it also makes it possible that the source of this rumor got their wires crossed and they merely heard about McGregor returning for his on spin-off, which could have been the next installment of theStar Wars Storybanner.
What If This Rumor is True?
But let’s pretend that this rumor is true. How would Ewan McGregor return as Obi-Wan Kenobi? While the Jedi might be dead, fans know he returned as a Force ghost to offer further guidance alongside Yoda in bothThe Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi. There’s a chance that Ewan McGregor could be seen inEpisode 9as a Force ghost. With some make-up, he could be made to look like old Obi-Wan Kenobi.
However, that might be a bit jarring since we’ve already seen Alec Guinnes as old Obi-Wan Kenobi. Then again, we also knew what young Han Solo looked like, and that didn’t stop Lucasfilm from casting Alden Ehrenreich as the smuggler. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility. If the idea of McGregor playing the older Obi-Wan Kenobi seems weird to you, there is another way the actor could appear. In fact, it’s the same way that he made a surprise appearance inThe Force Awakens.
You might remember that the voice of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobiwas used with archived audioof Sir Alec Guinness and re-recorded dialogue from Frank Oz as Yoda for the Force vision sequence inStar Wars: The Force Awakens. So there’s a chance that McGregor could be used in a voiceover capacity, perhaps to reach out to Rey in a time of need. Maybe he could even converse with the Force ghost voice of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. It might even help set up what we’d see in Obi-Wan’s spin-off movie.
For now, let’s just accept this is nothing more than a wild rumor, but we’ll keep our ear to the ground in case anything else comes up. Otherwise,Star Wars Episode 9hits theatersDecember 20, 2019.
