The Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series got done with its run (though it still may not be over…) a little while back, and many are still talking about great it was overall. It was a solid series that tied the past and future together in ways that were meaningful and yet fun. Ewan McGregor of course played the Jedi master, and as a result, he’s been thinking a lot about the Star Wars saga, especially the prequels.
As you all likely remember, the prequel trilogy wasn’t as “well received” as the original trilogy, and after thinking about it, Ewan McGregor feels he knows why that was:
“I think the critics just wanted to feel like they were seven or eight again, and they didn’t get that,” McGregor shared with GQ UK. “So I was left with that [reaction] for years and years, and it took [until I started] meeting people, and I realized how important our films have been to them.”
Indeed, before the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor stated that plenty of fans told him that they loved the prequels. So why didn’t he hear those words before?
“To begin with, all we heard really was the critical side of things,” the actor recalled. “That was the only voice I remember hearing, and they were not liked.”
He also pointed out that the prequels were George Lucas’ attempt to try and do something more with the franchise:
“I admire George for having tried to do something different with them,” McGregor pointed out. “He didn’t just set out to make another three Star Wars films that felt like the original ones. I respected him for that. I think that’s ballsy and interesting.”
That last couple of lines are interesting because they point to why the Sequel trilogy mostly failed to win fans over. So this is kind of an example of “danged it you do, danged if you don’t.”
Source: GQ UK
