Ewan McGregor wants to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and he is not being subtle about it. In an interview with Esquire, the actor said there is more story left in the character and that he would be happy to tackle any part of Kenobi's life between the end of his Disney+ series and the start of A New Hope. He also acknowledged that progress has stalled, saying that "nothing's really moving on that front," and directed an appeal to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro through the camera.
McGregor's case rests on a simple observation about the timeline. "There's 10 years of something happening to Obi-Wan," he said, referring to the gap in the character's story after his Disney+ series wrapped and before the events of the original Star Wars film, where Kenobi was played by Alec Guinness.
According to Collider, an Obi-Wan Kenobi revival is not a straightforward proposition. As far as the established story is concerned, Kenobi spent most of that decade in self-imposed isolation in the desert of Tatooine, hiding from imperial forces while deepening his connection to the Force. Comic books and novels have explored parts of this period, but Disney has largely kept those works out of official canon and has shown little interest in adapting them so far.
One path forward that Collider identifies is a 2017 episode of the animated series Star Wars Rebels, which depicted a confrontation between Kenobi and Darth Maul during this period and remains part of the official canon. McGregor himself recently made a guest appearance on Maul: Shadow Lord, an animated series done in a style similar to Rebels. That connection could provide an entry point for a second season of live-action Obi-Wan content that ties together existing canon rather than creating something entirely new.
The original Obi-Wan Kenobi series debuted in 2022 and was one of the most anticipated additions to the Star Wars streaming lineup. The story turned out to be more consequential to the larger Skywalker Saga than many fans expected, recontextualizing key moments from the original films without directly contradicting them.
The broader Star Wars franchise is described by Collider as being in an uncertain moment, with several planned projects either stalled or in flux. A second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi would represent a return to one of the more successful entries in the Disney+ era of the franchise, though whether that success could be replicated under even higher expectations is an open question.
Disney has not responded publicly to McGregor's appeal.
