It’s been exactly 25 years since Ewan McGregor first stepped into the robes of the iconic Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. But even after three prequel films and a spin-off series, the actor still hasn’t gotten enough of the Jedi.
McGregor most recently returned to the Star Wars galaxy with Obi-Wan Kenobi, an appropriately-named prequel to George Lucas’ original trilogy. The six-part miniseries seemed like a one-and-done affair when it premiered in 2022, but McGregor is still hoping that another season will further explore the title character in the years before A New Hope.
“I really do hope we get a chance to do another one,” the actor recently told Variety. “Between where we ended off in the series and when Alec Guinness comes on screen with Luke Skywalker, I think there’s another few stories to tell in there.”
McGregor isn’t wrong, even if fans have likely lost interest in more seasons of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Its first season was passable, but missed major opportunities to dig into the character and expand the Star Wars universe. Still, the concept retains a lot of potential; done right, another season of Kenobi could give fans exactly what they wanted from the series as it fleshes out another chapter of the Skywalker saga.
Kenobi is set roughly a decade before A New Hope, the film that introduced Obi-Wan (played by Guinness) as a mentor to Luke Skywalker, and was meant to bridge the gap between McGregor’s youthful Jedi Knight and Guinness’ mysterious old hermit. Ideally, it also would have planted the seeds for Obi-Wan’s relationship with Luke in the original trilogy, and even depicted Luke’s childhood with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. While it succeeded in the former, Kenobi seemed to squander the chance to explore a new side of Luke. The show instead focused on Obi-Wan’s first encounter with a young Princess Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair), a choice that, however subversive, earned the ire of some fans. Luke Skywalker is the most important character in the franchise, and yet we know essentially nothing about his formative years.
The Star Wars saga has arguably spent enough time on Tatooine, so exploring Alderaan and a handful of new planets wasn’t the worst idea. But in avoiding such a familiar locale, Kenobi also skirted past the most interesting parts of Obi-Wan’s story. While in exile on Tatooine, Obi-Wan is meant to reconnect with the Force, and even unlock the key to ghostly immortality with the help of his late master, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). Kenobi teases the beginning of that journey in its last episode, and though that does leave the door wide open for a second season, it also makes its first season feel a bit like a waste of time.
Fans were understandably stung by Kenobi’s first season, but a second season could make up for all that disappointment. As long as the story continues to explore Obi-Wan’s life on Tatooine, his burgeoning relationship with Luke, and maybe the rise of the Rebel Alliance from Bail Organa’s perspective, there’s no reason why it couldn’t redeem itself. At the very least, it would be fun to see McGregor once again step back into a role he loves.
