Surely one of the most highly anticipated projects in all ofStar Warsright now is the upcomingObi-Wan Kenobiseriesthat’s being made for Disney+. After years of rumors, Lucasfilm finally confirmed thatEwan McGregoris indeed reprising his role from theStar Warsprequels in a six-episode continuation that takes place 10 years after the events ofStar Wars: Revenge of the Sith– the last time McGregor filled the role ofObi-Wan. Moreover, the show will also findHayden Christiansenreprising his role as Darth Vader, forming a pretty significant bridge from the new era of Lucasfilm to theGeorge Lucasera.
Speaking of, McGregor is getting a bit candid about his experience on theStar Warsprequels. When Lucas first announced he was returning to theStar Warsrealm with three prequels –Episode I,II, andIIIof the Skywalker Saga – fans were thrilled. But what fans didn’t quite anticipate was how significantly Lucas would push the sequels in terms of changing film technology. In the late 90s, CG technology was quickly becoming the norm, but had not yet been refined enough to give us photo-real creatures or environments. Still nothing had topped the dinosaurs inJurassic Park.
But Lucas did it anyway.The Phantom Menacewas the only prequel shot on film, and the one that used the most practical sets. As Lucas moved intoAttack of the ClonesandRevenge of the Sith, he started stripping away more and more of the physical environment in favor of CG sets and backgrounds. Much to the consternation of his actors.
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Christiansen andNatalie Portmanhave been honest over the years about feeling frustrated working with tennis balls and blue backgrounds, and in contrasting the experience of the newObi-Wanseries with the prequels in an interview withTHR, McGregor added his voice to the chorus:
With each successive and underwhelming prequel release, director George Lucas employed more and more CGI, “because George loves technology and loves pushing into that realm,” McGregor explains. “He wanted more and more control over what we see in the background.” By Revenge of the Sith, physical sets and backdrops had almost entirely been replaced by bluescreens. “After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious — especially when the scenes are … I don’t want to be rude, but it’s not Shakespeare,” he continues. “There’s not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when there’s no environment there. It was quite hard to do.”
The first live-action Disney+Star Warsseries,The Mandalorian, pushed the boundaries of technology as well, but in a more successful way.Jon Favreauand his creative team developed a way to create photoreal backgrounds live on set using a game engine, so that actors are no longer surrounded by a blue screen – they’re surrounded by what the actual background is going to look like in the finished product. It’s howThe Mandalorianis able to traverse desert, sea, and snow all without leaving a single soundstage, and that same technology is being used onObi-Wan:
That won’t be a problem on the set ofObi-Wan Kenobi, where, as pioneered by creator Jon Favreau onThe Mandalorianin a process called StageCraft, “they project [the virtual backgrounds] onto this massive LED screen. So if you’re in a desert, you’re standing in the middle of a desert. If you’re in the snow, you’re surrounded by snow. And if you’re in a cockpit of a starfighter, you’re in space. It’s going to feel so much more real.”
Deborah Chow, who helmed two of the best episodes ofThe Mandalorian, is directing all six episodes ofObi-WanwhileHossein Amini(Drive) is writing them, and while McGregor revealed he’s already done some screen tests, he merely grinned and said “That’s very possible, I don’t know,” when asked if those screen tests involved a young Luke Skywalker. Curious. Very curious.
Obi-Wanis due to start filming soon but a release date has not yet been revealed.
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