Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen were somewhat emotional while on the set for Obi-Wan Kenobi. The upcoming Disney+ series would have had a lot of hype behind it even if it was not reuniting the stars of the prequel trilogy, mainly due to fascination with the period before the original Star Wars trilogy. But for McGregor and Christensen, it likely feels like things have come full circle.
McGregor's first Star Wars movie was 1999's The Phantom Menace, where Obi-Wan was a padawan to Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn and first met young Anakin Skywalker, played by Jake Lloyd. Christensen joined him as a teenage Anakin Skywalker in 2002's Attack of the Clones, where the pair first established their on-screen dynamic as teacher and student. The relationship adapted to more equal partners/ brothers status by 2005's Revenge of the Sith, before completely deteriorating in the climactic battle that sent Obi-Wan into exile on Tatooine and left Anakin in the life-support device known as his Darth Vader armor.
While speaking to Empire Online, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed that McGregor and Christensen got emotional while on the Obi-Wan Kenobi set. Kennedy's comments were part of an interview promoting the Book of Boba Fett, but she could not help sharing a tease of the actor's emotional reunion on the set of Obi-Wan Kenobi. According to Kennedy:
“The thing that was most exciting was being on the set and watching the two of them get excited. They hadn’t seen one another in a long time. I was surprised at just how incredibly emotional it was for each of them to find themselves back in these roles, and just realizing how important Star Wars was to each of them. It was the beginning of their careers.”
While McGregor's career trajectory has only gone up since the heyday of the prequel trilogies, Christensen's path has been a little quieter. Starring in several smaller films and starting his own production company, Christensen has not been in the spotlight as much. Now, being back on board for both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka, Christensen is right smack in the middle of all the fandom once more. It is no wonder that Kennedy saw the excitement on set, especially with the series reuniting Christensen with McGregor, considering how much time they spent together on the prequels.
Yet, how much screentime will Christensen have in Obi-Wan Kenobi? The writers would have to stretch the limits of believability to have Darth Vader actively pursue Obi-Wan and not find him, especially if the man is hiding out on Anakin's former homeworld next to his aunt and uncle. The odds are that Vader might be an omnipresent threat that lingers over McGregor's Obi-Wan but only makes a physical appearance once or twice, or perhaps even in dreams or mental connections. Either way, it will be fun to see the two on-screen together again. And hopefully, this series will have the same high quality as The Mandalorian to continue the hot-streak of Star Wars television on Disney+.
SOURCE: EmpireOnline