Ewan McGregor was feeling a lot like those poor younglings (you know the ones) when he first came face-to-face with Darth Vader while filming the upcoming Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Speaking with Total Film, McGregor, who of course had never had the pleasure of meeting Vader before, was left feeling terrified when he first found himself staring into those big, black eyes.
"I’ve never met Darth Vader. I had rehearsed the scene with Vader, but not with the helmet on or anything like that. When we came to do the scene, when they shouted 'action', he had to come from behind me. I turned around, and f---ing Darth Vader was coming at me. It was like I was six again. I’d never acted into Vader’s helmet. I’d never looked him in the eye.”
McGregor’s Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi will once again do battle with his student and friend-turned-enemy Anakin Skywalker, who has now become the iconic villain, Darth Vader when the Disney+ series begins. It was not just the intimidating figure of Vader that left McGregor quivering in his boots though...
"It scared the sh-t out of me. I’m not joking. It gave me a proper jolt of absolute fear. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not acting. That’s real. I’m really, truly frightened right now.’ And the same thing would happen with the Stormtroopers. I’d worked with Clone troopers before, but so many of them were CGI. I never worked with Stormtroopers, and, again, I was like seven years old again. Because when you’re actually faced with a Stormtrooper, with a blaster, it’s like: ‘F---ing hell.’”
So terrified was the actor that he did not even have to act when fighting the likes of Vader and the Stormtroopers, with McGregor being instantly taken back to his childhood when confronted with so many Star Wars staples.
"It’s like actual childhood memories of being scared. That’s how deeply it’s in us. I’ve acted for 30 years, and I’ve never been genuinely frightened when I’m acting frightened... But I had moments on this that were genuinely quite scary. It’s so funny.”
Obi-Wan Kenobi Will Land of Disney+ Next Month
Obi-Wan Kenobi will pick up with the exiled Jedi around ten years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The Jedi have failed to stop the Empire from taking over the galaxy and Obi-Wan Kenobi is now watching over Luke Skywalker on Tatooine. Trying to hide and live a quiet life, Obi-Wan is dragged back into the drama, embarking on an adventure that will bring him eye-to-eye with Darth Vader.
Ewan McGregor will executive produce the series as well as reprise the title role. Obi-Wan Kenobi also stars Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars, Bonnie Piesse as Beru Whitesun Lars, Moses Ingram as Reva AKA the Third Sister, Rupert Friend as the Grand Inquisitor, and Sung Kang as the Fifth Brother. The series will also see Hayden Christensen reprise the role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is scheduled to premiere on May 27, 2022, and will last six episodes ending on June 22.