Ewan McGregor felt "awkward" having to "lie" to people about the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off series.
Ewan McGregor
The 48-year-old actor will reprise his role as the Jedi Master for the six-episode 'Star Wars' show and he's relieved he can finally talk about the venture because he's spent years knowing he was to return to the franchise, despite the Disney X programme only being announced in August, but been banned from talking about it.
He told 'Entertainment Tonight': "Well, it's a really awkward situation to be in because the studios and the franchises, they want absolute secrecy and you have to respect that, but the trouble is that when you're the person being asked...you're having to lie about it really and I don't like that.
"I'd rather not lie about things, so when you're asked about it, you have to go, 'Well, if they want to give me a call, I'd be happy to play the role again' and all the while you think, 'Well, we've been talking about it for a while,' but they don't want me to say that."
Ewan admitted he had a lot of messages from fans who were worried about the prospect of a new Obi-Wan.
He said: "I looked like I was trying to get the job and... people would send me stuff from online where people were going, 'They better not cast someone else!' and 'They're thinking of someone else!' and I was thinking, 'You know, there isn't somebody else.' "
Ewan originally played a younger version of Obi-Wan in George Lucas' three prequel movies and for the series he intends for his portrayal of the character to be closer to that of Sir Alec Guinness, who portrayed an aged version of the Jedi in the original trilogy which began in 1977 with 'A New Hope'.
He recently said: "I want to get closer and closer to how Obi-Wan felt while Alec Guinness was playing him. I feel like I'm grayer and nearer him in age, so it'll be easier to do that."
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