Kumail Nanjiani compares working on the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show with Marvel’s Eternals. The new Disney+ show will serve as an expansion of the Star Wars franchise set ten years after the events of 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. Premiering on May 27, it will follow the titular character as he watches over Luke Skywalker and attempts to evade the Empire on Tatooine during his exile. In addition to Nanjiani, Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Rupert Friend, and Sung Kang. Nanjiani will play Haja in Obi-Wan Kenobi, a street-level con man who encounters Obi-Wan, which involved the actor having to research real-life magicians and con artists in preparation.
While the MCU has established itself as another widely successful franchise, much of its material feels different from that of Star Wars, and Eternals is no exception. Directed by Chloé Zhao, the 2021 film focused on a group of immortal beings, who reconnect after years of separation to protect the people of Earth from their counterparts, the Deviants, and an event known as the Emergence. Nanjiani portrayed Kingo, who begins the film as a Bollywood star, and whose powers include shooting cosmic energy from his hands. Upon its release, Nanjiani surprised many with his physical transformation for Kingo, though he shared the importance of representation and being able to look like he could fight other powerful Marvel characters.
Now, in an interview with EW, Nanjiani is revealing what was different about working on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Eternals. He explains that while everyone appears to be a fan of the MCU, Eternals was a change of pace that introduced audiences to new characters in a new world. In terms of Star Wars, the actor says that because it is something that has been established for a longer amount of time, everyone involved knew the characters and are big fans. Read Nanjiani’s quote regarding the comparisons between the two projects below:
"I think with Star Wars, the difference was... Obviously working on Eternals, it's the MCU. Everyone's such a fan of the MCU, but we are sort of working with new characters, right? The people don't really know these characters and don't really know this part of the MCU. So it's a new universe that's being created as you're going. With Star Wars, you're really stepping into something that has been established for a very long time. It still is the same visual language, people know these characters. So, to me, the thing that sets Star Wars apart from really any other job I've done is how the entire crew was a massive fan of Star Wars. Every day, people would wear Star Wars clothes, T-shirts with Chewbacca on them. And just everyone was really, really every single day excited to be working on Star Wars. And I've never done a job where every single day you could feel that everyone was grateful to be there."
While the ending of Eternals suggests Nanjiani will return to the role of Kingo in the future, it is worth wondering how long his character, Haja, will be a part of the Star Wars franchise. Nanjiani also talked about his Star Wars future post-Obi-Wan Kenobi and revealed that he would like to play Haja again. He says that he has a lot of love for the character and called the idea of reprising the role a “dream come true.”
Fans of Nanjiani have been expressing their excitement over his recent acting endeavors ever since he was cast in Eternals. It is interesting then to hear about his experiences making productions like that and Obi-Wan Kenobi and how they can be so different. As many await the next appearance of Kingo, fans of Nanjiani can look forward to seeing him in Obi-Wan Kenobi when it premieres on Disney+ later this month.
Source: EW