Ewan McGregor Says His Obi-Wan Kenobi Is ‘Not Alec Guinness’ Ben Yet’ in Disney+ Series (Video)

Obi-Wan Kenobi may not be the man he was in the prequels when the new Disney+ series drops on Friday, but that doesn’t mean he’s the legendary Ben Kenobi of the original trilogy yet either. According to Ewan McGregor, he’s somewhere in between.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” picks up roughly a decade after the events of “Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” At this point in the story, Anakin Skywalker is deep into his time as Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan is in hiding, as his old padawan has people all over the galaxy hunting for him. He’s still on Tatooine, at least for a little bit, as he looks over Luke Skywalker from afar. And yes, he’s going by Ben Kenobi now. But that’s just about the only thing he has in common with the Jedi we see in “A New Hope.”

“He’s not Alec Guinness’ Ben yet,” McGregor told TheWrap. “He’s calling himself Ben, but he’s not quite where Alec Guinness is living. There’s something about Alec Guinness is Obi Wan Kenobi that is — my Obi-Wan Kenobi in the series is not settled like Alec is.”

Also Read:
Ewan McGregor Says Playing John Williams’ Score During ‘Obi-Wan’ Fight Scenes Helped Him Resist Making Lightsaber Noises (Video)

Of course, McGregor means “living” both literally and spiritually in the Jedi’s case.

“I feel like there’s some kind of acceptance of his life, and there’s sort of some sort of peace with Alec Guinness,” McGregor added. “But my Obi-Wan Kenobi, at this point, is not at peace yet. He’s still in a very sort of lonely, bleak place, and like you say, guilt-ridden and grieving for all of the Jedi he lost. But also especially his brother, Anakin.”

Obviously, the two will likely come face to face — or rather, face to… mask — again sooner rather than later. And though there’s certainly bad blood there now, McGregor notes that the dynamic between Anakin and Obi-Wan is largely similar to that of the prequels.

“He’s my padawan and I’m his master. So he’s my student, if you like, and that is very much the dynamic,” McGregor said. “But I feel we’re very close, you know? I mean, me and Hayden are so I feel like Obi Wan and Anakin are.”

You can watch TheWrap’s full interview with Ewan McGregor in the video above.