Return of the Jedi: Ewan McGregor in talks to return as Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney+

Disney+, the new premium streaming service from the House of Mouse, already has one Star Wars-related series in the works, and it’s looking like The Mandalorian is going to get some company in that galaxy far, far away. Deadline and Variety are reporting that actor Ewan McGregor is in talks to reprise the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi for a new live-action Disney+ series. McGregor previously played that crazy old wizard in Star Wars Episodes I through III.

This isn’t the first time McGregor’s return as the character originated by Sir Alec Guinness in 1977 has been teased. Fans (at least this fan) have been hoping for more of the Scottish actor in the role since Disney first started producing non-episodic Star Wars spin-offs, and a solo film featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi was even reported to be in development back in 2017. Following the relative box office underperformance of Solo, though, the spin-off films were put on the back-burner by Disney.

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s activity during the roughly nineteen year-period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope has been touched on a handful of times since Disney acquired Lucasfilm. A few issues of the Marvel Star Wars comic have featured Kenobi’s journal entries from the time period. Perhaps most notably, though, an arc during the third season of the Star Wars: Rebels animated series saw Darth Maul attempting to track down and exact his revenge on Kenobi, ultimately confronting him on Tatooine for one last battle in the twentieth episode of the season. Kenobi was voiced in that episode by actor Stephen Stanton, taking over for Star Wars: The Clone Wars actor James Arnold Taylor. Stanton’s performance in the episode was more in the style of Guinness’s voice, while Taylor’s had been closer to McGregor’s.

I’m still holding out for a buddy comedy between McGregor’s Kenobi and Joel Edgerton‘s Owen Lars. Don’t let me down, Disney! The Disney+ streaming service is set to launch on November 12th.