(REEL WHIRRING)
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MAN: One B. Take one.
INTERVIEWER: This is probably one of your first roles
in a strictly fantasy-type film.
Do you feel that it has presented any particular challenges to you?
Challenge from top to bottom.
Now, I've never done anything remotely to do with science fiction before.
But then, as I see it, this has nothing to do with past, present, or future.
Star Wars could be in any of those areas.
George Lucas suggested to me something of a samurai warrior,
something of a wise man, a kind of monk-like character.
You've got to be rooting for someone
and I think you certainly are in this picture.
Hello there.
(R2-D2 BEEPING)
Come here, my little friend. Don't be afraid.
EWAN MCGREGOR: I remember clearly the first time
I saw Star Wars. I was five or six.
I came from this very small town in Scotland and, me and my brother,
we went to the big city to watch it.
We didn't really know what it was, or...
(CHUCKLING) That it was Star Wars, you know.
And then I watched it a billion times.
When we got a video player, we watched it over and over and over.
We knew every single line of it.
We watched it till it was just colors on the screen.
It was so worn out, you know.
And Alec Guinness, of course, I didn't know his work.
I was only a kid. But I knew him as Obi-Wan Kenobi,
and he's this iconic, legendary character.
If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
MCGREGOR: By the time I was nine, I'd decided I wanted to be an actor.
And I just... I wondered at his career.
Then when I got cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi,
I tried to watch as many films as I could of him as a young man.
To try and imagine him as a younger person.
This series is special
because it's a character that I loved playing back in the day
and I get the chance to do it again.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
DEBORAH CHOW: Good morning, everyone!
Now, welcome to our first official day.
(APPLAUDING)
This is also our first official day with Ewan,
who not only is Obi-Wan Kenobi but is also a producer and a partner on the show.
MCGREGOR: Yeah. Thank you so much. It's been a long time...
-It's been a long time coming to this. -WOMAN: (LAUGHING) Yeah, I know.
MCGREGOR: Many years, we've been talking about doing this
and it's exciting and unbelievable almost that here we are.
(APPLAUDING AND CHEERING)
WOMAN: Rehearsal up!
MAN: Rehearsal's up!
CHOW: Good luck. Here we go.
(SLOW ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING)
CHOW: This series is the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the intervening years
between the prequels and the original trilogies.
We're starting in a moment where the Jedi are gone,
they're being hunted, the Empire is in control.
Everything's a very dark period.
So, in many ways, we're trying to answer the question of,
"How did he go from Revenge of the Sith
"with all the pain and the tragedy at the ending to,
"sort of, the calm and the peace of A New Hope?"
(ENGINES WHIRRING)
Takin' on the series, for me,
it was hugely an honor to be able to enter into this mythology
and to inherit this galaxy with such rich, amazing characters.
But at the same time, I also need to tell a story.
And I can't copy what George did, I'm not George,
so I have to tell my own story with these characters.
I think the trick has been to find the balance between those two things.
Meet Obi-Wan Kenobi.
CHOW: Ewan was very involved all through the whole development,
and he was such a lovely creative partner.
He's more than just an actor.
He, to me, is Obi-Wan.
And Ewan was kind of the exact right age to play this character again.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
MCGREGOR: When I first heard that they were doing Episode I to III
and they needed an Obi-Wan Kenobi,
I definitely didn't think it was for me.
I thought, "This isn't who I am," just because of the scale of it.
I felt like I was this indie actor.
There was three of us for the part.
And I went in and I did a screen test.
WOMAN: You can't help but change when it goes on.
-Everyone can just be the most... -Of course. Especially actors,
-'cause that's what we do. -Yeah, yeah.
MCGREGOR: I thought, "No. I'm not gonna be doing something that big."
But the truth was, I really wanted it.
I wanted it because
of how I'd felt about the original three Star Wars films.
Shortly thereafter, I heard that they'd offered it to me,
and I was so beyond excited.
-(LAUGHS) How are you? -Hi. How are you doing?
You all right?
The crux of the story is you object to Qui-Gon bringing this kid along.
-Mmm-hmm. -So, his last dying wish to you
is that you carry on with the kid
and you're sort of saying, "Okay, I'll do it."
But you're really not up for it. But you do it anyway.
You've taken on this obligation that you don't really want
and you're not really capable of,
but you promised your dying master that you would do it, so, that's where it ends.
MCGREGOR: I had a walk around the studio with George.
We went into a stage where they were making the submarine
that Liam and Ahmed Best and I end up in.
And I was so excited, I looked up at it, and then I went,
"George, will we go underwater in it?"
(LAUGHS) And he just looked at me and he went, "What?"
And I said, "Will we submerge in it?"
I was so excited that we might.
And he said, "It's none of it real, you know."
And a little part of me went... (DISAPPOINTEDLY) Huh.
Like, that feeling of when you get into the world of it,
like, of course you're not flying through space, you know.
But somewhere in my head,
I thought maybe I would get the chance to do something like that.
And then later on, we went into the props-making department
and the props master brought this wooden box out.
And opened it up.
And there was lightsabers in there.
And I got to choose my one, you know.
And that was the real moment where I realized what was going on,
that this was an important moment. To pick Obi-Wan's lightsaber.
I've been waiting for this for weeks.
Every morning I'd say, "I wonder if it's today I'll get to choose."
(ALL LAUGH)
(LIGHTSABERS WHOOSHING)
MCGREGOR: I don't think I'd imagined the scale of it.
And it was unlike anything I'd ever done.
(ANAKIN YELLS)
MCGREGOR: It's so interesting now, 20 years later,
the love that there is for those films
from the generation who they were made for,
the children then.
The films that we made are their Star Wars, you know.
And that's lovely.
It's nice that feeling coincides with making the series.
CHOW: This is our prop master.
MCGREGOR: Good to see you! PROP MASTER: Good to see you!
This is the A New Hope Alec Guinness' saber.
And this is what you had in Episode III.
And this is kind of our halfway point in a way...
-MCGREGOR: I see. -...that's leaning hard into this,
as far as form factor, like it's got the switchboard and not the bubbles.
-MCGREGOR: This was mine in III? -Yeah.
MCGREGOR: We shot Episode III in 2003.
And we started shooting this one in 2020
so that's a long time not to play somebody, I feel like.
It was such a long time ago. I've just forgotten all of it.
And yet, as soon as I put his clothes on and came on set here,
it didn't take me very long to feel comfortable again.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
MAN 1: Here we go, darlin'.
MAN 2: I haven't tried the smoke machine before.
MAN 1: Okay.
Good?
PROP MASTER: This is sort of a color sample of the edible meat.
MCGREGOR: Okay.
And so, you're gonna cut a piece of one of these bricks for your eopie.
Like taking a corner. And maybe doing like that,
on the way down.
MCGREGOR: Yeah, that would fit in my pouch, yeah.
I started speaking with people at Disney a long time ago.
I always thought it would be interesting to take a character that
we know and love as being one way and show him in defeat.
I just said, I just feel like it's an interesting story
about a man who's broken and lost his faith.
And how does it come back? How does he get it back?
MAN: ...camera A marker.
CHOW: And, action!
The first thing we did with Ewan was the Sandwhale Farm.
And so, that was sort of a lovely way to start
'cause that scene is really the introduction to his character.
One of the things that we really tried to focus on
was less about the Jedi and more about the man.
We were really trying to do a series that was really focused on Ben Kenobi, the man.
Who is he and how does he feel?
And how does he deal with everything?
The Jedi is part of the identity, but really it was about him.
The Sandwhale Farm is actually one of my favorite sets,
and we were really looking at references of whaling stations of old.
He's living in Anchorhead which is a farming town,
so it's very much a blue-collar town in many ways.
I was really trying to make it feel gritty.
He's just an ordinary man at this point.
And just doing his daily routine.
MCGREGOR: Physically, he's rusty in terms of fighting
and also just rusty in terms of the desire to do it.
He's sort of lost, I think, Obi-Wan, in a way.
He doesn't have the same drive to fight for good.
Something you wanna say?
MAN 1: Okay. Backin' up.
MAN 2: Excuse me, everybody. Excuse me. MAN 3: Beep, beep.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: If you're doing crosses, it's not business as normal.
Head down, aware that at any moment
they can turn around and snap your neck. Okay, thank you.
MAN: Action!
CHOW: It was really exciting for me, coming on to this series
to take on a new aspect of the dark side.
These Inquisitors were first introduced
by Dave Filoni in his animated series, Rebels.
So, this is the first time in live-action for them.
The Inquisitorius is an organization that was created by Emperor Palpatine
after the Clone Wars.
And its primary purpose was to hunt down and eliminate Force users.
It's led by Darth Vader,
and many of the Inquisitors were former Jedi who turned to the dark side.
JOBY HAROLD: It is truly extraordinary.
It looks so close to what I'd pictured,
which is really weird, 'cause it isn't always that way.
But actually, it's how you imagine it.
It's sort of that Western motif of the three characters walking down the street
and everyone parting ways
and then everyone sitting silently as they're intimidated.
It's wonderful.
Hey, man. How are you? Nice to see you again.
-I know it's been many years. -It's been many years. Too many years.
Have you got your kit on yet?
-No. Not yet. -CHOW: It's coming.
It's coming.
FRIEND: My character is the Grand Inquisitor.
The Grand Inquisitor used to be a Jedi.
You know who we are.
Inquisitors.
FRIEND: The idea that somebody could be fighting on the side of good
and turn to the dark side, I found fascinating.
There's way more to this guy than just a bad-ass with a double-edged lightsaber.
CHOW: The Grand Inquisitor is a former Jedi Knight and temple guard
who turned to the dark side.
He's a very interesting character because he's calculating, cerebral, and cunning
and he uses his intelligence as a weapon.
Fifth Brother is a powerful warrior
and he's the natural successor to the Grand Inquisitor.
Reva is a young Inquisitor who doesn't like to play by the rules.
She's fiery. She's passionate. She's impatient.
She's frequently in conflict with the other Inquisitors.
You just gotta make sure that when her hand's out,
be careful that you remember the width of the length of the blade, right?
And just making sure that you don't touch her body with it.
The story of Reva was an interesting one for us.
And this was a character that I was really excited about.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
MOSES INGRAM: It's a dream I didn't know I had.
I just never thought it would or could actually be me.
CHOW: And, action!
INGRAM: The first day, going to costumes and putting on the suit,
it blew my mind.
MAN: Look up.
(BURSTING)
INGRAM: Women, in general, are complicated beings
and to get to inhabit a character that seems one way
but is very much something different and is led all by her heart.
The choices you make are sometimes muddled
when you're trying to move with your heart, you know.
-Keep the eyeline cam with us? -CHOW: He'll be... Yeah, he's going...
Yes, so everything is going... He's bigger.
Yeah. Yeah.
INGRAM: It's important for us to have heroes, yes.
But also, villains.
It's cool to be... It's cool to be nice.
But it's also cool to see different people inhabit villains.
CHOW: I really loved the idea of having this young, dark side woman
'cause there're been so few actual women on the dark side in live-action.
It was really exciting to kinda get to develop this character.
I needed a young woman that you could really believe
could take on Darth Vader and make an attempt on him.
It's a big role.
(INGRAM GRUNTING)
(AS REVA) He will have his revenge on you all.
And I will be the one who delivers it to him.
CHOW: Moses just had the strength.
She had the intelligence.
I just found her really charismatic,
so I was really excited when we cast her in the part of Reva.
She's a complex character.
Obi-Wan is clearly on the light side.
Vader is clearly on the dark side.
Reva's in the middle.
Her original intentions were good,
but she essentially got consumed by fear and anger.
And you can understand that. You can relate to it.
(ENGINE WHIRRING)
MCGREGOR: The Inquisitors are looking for Obi-Wan or any other Jedi.
Thank you, Owen.
MCGREGOR: Obi-Wan doesn't use the Force at the beginning of the series.
He won't. He can't.
Because it'll give him away.
But also, he made a promise to look after Luke
so he's trying to live up to that promise.
CHOW: We were fortunate to have both Joel Edgerton and Bonnie return for us.
They are from the prequels.
So it was amazing to get both of them to come back and reprise these roles.
And, action.
So many years have gone by,
and they have a personal relationship to the character,
they've lived their lives with the character.
Bonnie and Joel were so young when they first did it,
and then to be reunited 20 or so years later,
it felt like something special for them coming back.
I was very excited to see you, Bonnie.
I was excited to see you.
-Good. Thank goodness for that. -Yeah. I really was.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Yeah, no, I got a little like, "Oh, my God, Joel's here,"
-when you came into the makeup trailer. -Yeah.
PIESSE: When I heard that we were coming back,
I definitely felt the pressure for a number of months.
But as soon as I stepped on the set it felt pretty relaxed, really.
EDGERTON: Yeah. It's been an incredible environment.
And I think that Deb Chow is incredible.
And just a really good vibe and sense of camaraderie on set.
PIESSE: Yeah. And it doesn't feel like pressure so much
'cause I feel like everyone is excited to be here.
MAN 1: Set.
MAN 2: And, action.
Luke!
OWEN: Luke!
OBI-WAN: Where is he?
EDGERTON: The fact that there's a real deepening of the relationship
with us as a family, including Luke, and the protectiveness that we display,
felt like it was walking down the right road with them
because that's what they would do.
People have a real love for Star Wars
and it touches them deeply in their soul.
And I think people are in love with the heroic journey.
It just calls on people's spirit in a way, and what an honor to be a part of that.
BREHA: Leia Organa!
You had to do this today?
Do what?
Down.
(CHIRPS NERVOUSLY)
CHOW: So, we're gonna take it from you coming down here
then you're gonna come over here and this...
MCGREGOR: I love that everyone thought it would be a story
about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.
And nobody knew that this was the story about Obi-Wan and Leia.
Deborah, should I give her like a "I'm sorry" look
before I press her off, like,
"I'm sorry she made me do it" and then press her off?
CHOW: Yeah, just give her a little sorry look.
One of the most challenging and exciting elements of the show
is young Princess Leia.
FRECK: Well, hop in. Meet my new friends.
This is Orden and Luma. They're hitchin' a ride to the port.
CHOW: One of the things that really drew me to the project
was the father-daughter story of it all.
'Cause my dad, growing up, he was a very pivotal person for me.
My dad was a huge movie fan, and he was Chinese,
so he used to watch a ton of Asian action films.
He loved them and he had a huge collection of movies.
So, I think I absorbed a lot from that
and just the speed and the imagination
that a lot of the Asian martial arts films have,
and the legacy of people like Kurosawa
and the grandmasters, Jet Li, all the people like that.
It's been really interesting 'cause I never really thought,
"Oh, I'm gonna grow up and become an action director."
It certainly was not what I was thinking I was doing
but I actually really love doing it.
When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of The Muppets,
and I really love fantasy and sci-fi.
SPECIALTY CREATURE SUPERVISOR: He has full mouth, eye,
he's got muscular movement.
CHOW: If he tried to say something, how close do you think you could get?
(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
CHOW: It's pretty good.
(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
CHOW: I like anything that's weird and wonderful
and, kind of, goes into a different direction.
CHOW: This person would be amazing for shoplifters.
So, maybe, that's like the clothing store when they're getting the clothes.
This is the store owner that keeps watching everybody.
WOMAN: (LAUGHING) That's so brilliant. CHOW: Yeah.
So, basically, what's gonna happen is, she's just gonna run through your legs.
So, just as the person runs through your legs,
it's just like getting a sense of the creature looking down
and then going, "Whoa."
I love all the creatures in Star Wars
because I think it creates a really special world for everybody on set.
Hey! Get your hands off of me!
I thought we were friends. I gave you a ride.
CHOW: 'Cause it's there and you feel it, and you can see it, and it's so charming.
(BRAFF SOBBING)
(SLOW ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING)
CHOW: The world building of creating a galaxy
that was so detailed and so thorough,
but so inventive and so creative at the same time, was just amazing.
And Daiyu is one of my favorite planets.
It's a place that's an underworld.
You know, shady characters, lots of colorful creatures,
a lot of illegal activity going on there.
It's where the mercenaries take Leia once they kidnapped her.
And they take her to this underground spice den.
Some of our earliest references were things like
the Bangkok night markets or Hong Kong at night.
So, I was looking a lot at Wong Kar-Wai and other things like that,
and just having this sense of the neon.
It was a really fun planet design.
MALE STORMTROOPER: Out of the way.
When I meet Leia, I'm all business.
It's just all about getting her back to Bail,
getting her back to Alderaan.
And I'm not open enough to see her for who she is.
Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?
In the early films that I did, there was a sort of impatience with Anakin,
and at the beginning of our story, there's that frustration again.
Obi-Wan's got that reluctant teacher-parent feeling with Leia.
The blaster in the hand feels okay.
If you don't like it, I'm totally okay with it tucked in.
MCGREGOR: Kumail plays a character called Haja
who's this trickster.
And I meet him because I've heard there's a Jedi who could help us get out.
CHOW: And, action.
You're no Jedi.
But you know where one is.
I'm the only Jedi around.
(HAJA GROANS AND GASPS)
NANJIANI: I got Force-pushed into a wall
much harder than I thought I was going to.
I'm very padded up and it was awesome, but also, I forget what day it is.
CHOW: And cut.
WOMAN: Cut, cut. MAN: Cutting,
-How you feelin'? You all right? -(CREW LAUGHING)
WOMAN: You okay?
NANJIANI: It's just really fun to play a guy who's pretending to be a Jedi.
I re-watched all the Star Wars in preparation for it.
And then I was like, okay, this is probably all this guy knows,
so his Force-gestures and the way he conducts himself as a Jedi,
it's very theatrical.
Spaceport passenger check. Gate 3-C, do you read? Over.
NANJIANI: Because the people he's dealing with also probably haven't run into Jedi,
so it's just his version of it.
This is a Jedi mind trick. Do not be alarmed.
I am inside your mind.
MALE CONTACT: You're inside my mind.
NANJIANI: I actually looked up a lot about different techniques
that con men use to con their marks.
It was really fun to do that in the context of Star Wars.
MCGREGOR: You know, they think it's so easy being a Jedi.
They think it's so easy.
NANJIANI: It's not. The hood work alone...
that's what three years of training is just to get the hood right.
NANJIANI: I really love that I got to play this character
who has this complicated morality.
This pull and push inside of him,
doing the right thing or making money.
It makes that choice a lot richer.
BLAIR: Okay.
CHOW: I think what this is, peek your... Can you push your head out a little?
MCGREGOR: Obi-Wan and Leia go on the run, and they come across Tala.
Tala's an important character for Obi-Wan in terms of
her encouragement of him to leave the past in the past.
May the Force be with you.
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
Today's been really emotional. Hasn't it, Shea?
It's a dream come true. This is the best job I ever had.
(BOTH LAUGH)
VARMA: I play Tala and she's actually the equivalent of the French resistance.
I will not have my integrity questioned.
REVA: Then admit you're a spy!
Well, of course I am.
VARMA: She has been hurt. Deeply, deeply disillusioned by the Empire
and has since switched her allegiance.
Now.
VARMA: I think she sees Ben. She understands him.
She sees a man who's given up.
Who's lost his mojo.
And she tries to galvanize him to face his past, and to face his fears.
Actions speak louder than words.
Let's get a move on.
Thanks.
I love that jacket.
It's the Gap. (LAUGHS)
VARMA: Do not joke. You would not find that in Gap.
Would you wear that?
JACKSON JR.: Man, I like my fit. I'm out here dripping.
-(LAUGHING) -VARMA: You do look really cool.
Man, it's gonna be a good time. I feel official now.
CHOW: Action.
JACKSON JR.: Roken is leading what we hope will eventually become
what we know as the Rebellion.
This is kind of like the first chapter.
Where's Wade?
He's just a regular guy just trying to do the right thing
and it leads him down this path to be something bigger than what he is.
Oh, little kid Shea is spazzing out right now.
I'm losing my mind.
I'm trying to keep it cool, trying to do the acting thing,
but yeah, I'm having a good time.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
I'm freaking out.
Still can't believe... This, I love this.
Star Wars is a huge, huge part of my life.
Me and my sister would play the soundtrack
and fight each other with our lightsabers.
And to this day I still listen to certain songs I really like...
Duel of the Fates, I mean, I want that played at my wedding.
(LAUGHING) This is nuts.
Stop.
Me and my whole family were addicted to Star Wars,
and now I get to be in it.
CHOW: So this is all... JACKSON JR.: Yo, I mean, this is wild.
(LAUGHING)
Oh, my God.
One of the major things that we're telling in this story is that
Obi-Wan at the end of Revenge of the Sith in the prequels
did not know that Anakin Skywalker survived to become Lord Vader.
He thinks he's dead.
So that is a major revelation that we're doing for his character.
In trying to tell the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi,
we looked at his past, we looked at his relationships,
and one of the most important people in his life is Anakin Skywalker.
It felt really key that Hayden be playing the role in this series.
(McGREGOR CHUCKLES)
Hello there. How are you?
I'm good.
-You all right? -Yeah. Good. You?
Yeah, good. Just been watching some interesting clips of our old stuff.
-(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) -(ENGINE WHIRRING)
What took you so long?
Oh, you know, Master, I couldn't find a speeder that I really liked.
(LAUGHING)
(MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING)
CHRISTENSEN: It's a surreal world to play in and be a part of.
I did those films many years ago and still I go out in public,
it's hard to not have some interaction with someone
where they express what these films mean to them.
I remember auditioning for the films
with no concept that I could actually get the part.
He cast me in the role, and it was a dream come true, you know.
Every day putting that costume on,
you got the cloak and the lightsaber on the belt.
You know, walking by a mirror and being like,
you know, yeah, I'm a Jedi Knight.
That's, you know... (CHUCKLES) It was incredible.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
As you're looking, you think about it and he goes,
"What about Padmé?"
And then you say your lines and then you turn and look to see...
CHRISTENSEN: A big part of the thrill of coming back to this for me was
the idea that I was gonna get to do it with Ewan.
LUCAS: Set. And, action.
CHRISTENSEN: He is someone I'm extremely fond of
and he had a big impact on me when we were making those films.
I was young. I was 19 when we started, and very new to it.
And he took me under his wing.
Good call, my young Padawan.
We spent a lot of time together and had a lot of fun together.
LUCAS: And, action.
-Obi-Wan... -(BOTH LAUGH)
LUCAS: Very good.
MCGREGOR: Ugh, God.
Turned out great. That's the one.
Particularly nice...
-(EXCLAIMING) -(ALL LAUGH)
Jesus.
(LIGHTSABER WHOOSHING)
(ANAKIN SCREAMING)
CHRISTENSEN: I mean, you warned me, you had the high ground.
If I had a dollar for every time someone's told me I had the high ground.
CHRISTENSEN: Getting to come back and do more with him was an opportunity
that I think we were both very grateful for.
This is a character that has come to define my life in so many ways,
both professionally and personally.
Coming back to it after all these years was very meaningful to me.
I didn't think I'd get the opportunity to put it back on again.
So, this is a pretty neat thing, you know, all these years later.
Deborah just had so much insight.
It was clear that she felt a great responsibility to this character, as I do.
(CAMERA CLICKING)
PHOTOGRAPHER: Okay, and then the other side.
CHRISTENSEN: And so, we just knew that we had to get this right.
And that was kinda how we ended all of our conversations with,
was we gotta get this right.
CHOW: We're gonna head down the path.
CHRISTENSEN: There she is. MAN: Done and done.
CHRISTENSEN: My first day on set was a really special day.
I was Anakin from Episode III era.
When I got to set, I was told that Ewan had already finished for the day
and that they were trying to send him home,
but he was insisting on staying to be there for my first shot back.
I was looking for him. I was like, "Where is he?"
They're like, "He's standing by the camera for your eyeline."
And they pointed off way in the distance, 200-300 feet away.
And I was like, I can't really see him, so I shouted to him,
I was like, "Obi-Wan."
I saw a hand go up, and then I really felt his presence.
(EMOTIONAL ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING)
It was a very emotional thing.
Not just reuniting as these characters, but also as friends.
It was like going back in time. It was so cool.
Are we ready for this?
MCGREGOR: Man... Yeah.
I love Hayden and it was so nice to see him again.
It was moving, it was emotional to work with him again.
I'm ready for you, then.
(ALL LAUGHING)
And also getting to wield lightsabers at each other again
was pretty epic. It was pretty cool.
CHOW: It was really lovely to watch Hayden and Ewan reunite.
There's just such a warmth and there is such a relationship
between the two of them
that it really feels like the characters in a lot of ways.
Especially when we're doing the flashbacks to the prequels.
It really brought something special out of both of them.
And, action.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Mercy does not defeat an enemy.
Which is why you're gonna lose.
MCGREGOR: He's like my brother or something.
We have a sort of shorthand, I suppose.
It's all still there when we're working together.
It just felt very natural and easy.
I was looking over at Hayden, he just looked exactly as I remember.
I'm standing there with dots on my face,
there's the de-aging people in the background going "What are we gonna do?"
MAN: Charlie mark.
CHOW: Action.
(BOTH GRUNTING)
You grow aggressive, Anakin. Be mindful.
CHRISTENSEN: We found our rhythm and it was just like old hat again.
There's Ewan with his Jedi mullet and I've got my little Padawan braid,
and it was Obi-Wan and Anakin again from the good ol' days.
Coming back, what I was most excited by
was the idea of exploring the character of Darth Vader at this point in the timeline.
When we meet him in the series,
he's struggling with his past in a way that he needs to reconcile.
He needs to kill Obi-Wan to kill that part of himself
and become the Sith that he knows he needs to be.
That is what this pursuit is in the series.
When I find out that Anakin's alive and that he is Vader,
his mission of getting Leia back to Alderaan becomes all the more important
because we're in great danger now.
CHOW: They should be equally across. Put this guy here, this one.
And this one here.
MCGREGOR: I came on set to do this scene in this mining village set.
And there was just loads of people standing around like...
Of course there's a big crew and everything
but it was odd, there was a lot of people just standing.
But then I realized why.
Vader walks out at the end of the street.
It was like gobsmacking.
Everyone's there to see Vader.
And I go, "Oh, that's what it is."
JONATHAN EUSEBIO: Maybe just start her that direction, so you know.
'Cause I think this felt right, like when he pulls her down...
Today is just a little action piece.
A lot of it is just,
you look over the scene with Deb
and then we just kind of see how she wants it to play out.
CHOW: Here, I think everything has to go faster.
WOMAN: Got it. EUSEBIO: Okay.
CHOW: To get to the track, right.
EUSEBIO: She wanted to make it almost like a horror movie,
where the monster would appear,
and you turn around and he's gone. You look one way, he's gone.
It's like always hunting you down.
All right, here we go. Ready and action.
I grew up on this franchise, so this is just a dream for me just to be around.
CHOW: Yeah, they're gonna go out faster.
So, more urgency getting out that you guys have to make sure nobody's leaving.
Going again.
MCGREGOR: I'd done some rehearsal with Vader in his costume,
but I never rehearsed with him with the helmet on.
They're setting up for our first lightsaber battle.
They put the marker board on for whatever the scene is. Take one.
And, action!
I'm walking, and then I hear his feet and I turn around.
And Darth Vader is coming at me.
I was struck with absolute fear.
It was real boyhood fear. It was like...
(GASPS LOUDLY)
(LAUGHING)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
It's the first time I've lit my lightsaber in a long time.
So I don't really wanna face him. I'm not ready to face him, but I take him on.
CHOW: Essentially, Vader is much stronger than Obi-Wan at this moment,
and he really kinda kicks his ass and burns him in the fire,
and a lot of the history is coming up with the fire.
But it's more about just coming to terms
and dealing with this monster that he helped create.
I'm feeling very like Darth Sidious.
CHOW: It is a lot to play somebody who's on the dark side.
There is an intensity and there is an emotional commitment and drive to them.
(SLOW PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
They're driven by anger and hate, and so,
it's not an easy place to stay in as a performer.
There is a larger-than-life component to it.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
At this point in the galaxy, we have a world that is quite a dark worldview.
And there's a lot going on in the galaxy that is definitely not right.
(GASPS AND GRUNTS)
CHOW: A large part of what we're trying to do with this story
is ask "How do you retain your hope?"
and "How do you find hope in these dark times?"
MAN: Take four-six-eight, take three. Camera. Action.
CHOW: I've always thought that Princess Leia, honestly,
is one of the best female characters that's ever been written
and that's also combined with Carrie Fisher.
I feel like a lot of times, nowadays, people are saying,
"Oh, it's a strong woman and she's tough,"
and it just means that she's killing everybody,
and Carrie was not like that.
Carrie, in Princess Leia, you had somebody that was a rebel,
was a fighter, but she was also intelligent,
she was funny, but she could also be warm, she could be loving.
And she really kinda had this multi-dimensional characterization
that was just wonderful.
One of the things for me that I really wanted to acknowledge in the series
without getting too heavy-handed about it
was this sense that, there's obviously been a lot of focus on Luke Skywalker
and his contribution to the galaxy,
but I feel like with Princess Leia,
I don't think he could have done it without her.
-What the hell are you doing? -Somebody has to save our skins.
CHOW: And she was the one who organized all the rebels,
she was there fighting the war,
she was there kinda doing all the other side of it
and I think the two of them really, they did it together in a lot of ways.
That was something that I really loved about the series
is that we were getting a chance to acknowledge that she played a pivotal role
in allowing everything to happen as it did.
(SIGHS) It's not like anyone would miss me if I wasn't there.
I'd miss you.
All I ever do is wave.
CHOW: For any performer, let alone a child,
trying to take on the legacy of Princess Leia and Carrie Fisher
is incredibly difficult.
But Vivien just kinda had the essence of her,
and I think that was the main thing.
Try to reason with her.
So, think of your own mom a minute. How do you win your mom?
-What does she respond to the most? -Um...
-Hugs. Usually. -(LAUGHS)
LEIA: I'm sorry, Mother.
I really am.
I promise I won't do it again.
MCGREGOR: Vivien's brilliant, just brilliant to work with.
You know, I can feel you doing that.
She had all of the wit and cheek of Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia.
She had the same job to do as I had with Alec.
I actually started on the Star Wars books, and I learned how to read with those.
And Star Wars, of course, the moment I saw him on the page,
I fell in love with R2-D2.
MCGREGOR: I didn't know Vivien before we started,
and so the story line and the reality of shooting
are somewhat side by side in that we didn't know each other very well
and then we got to know each other better and better as we shot the series.
So, it went hand in hand really.
She was never anything but fully enthusiastic and she's a passionate actor.
If you're a real Jedi, why aren't you using your lightsaber?
Because we're in hiding.
Convenient.
Unless, you can't do Jedi stuff and that lightsaber is completely stolen.
Make me float.
MCGREGOR: I'd really thought that she nailed it,
like I could feel Princess Leia in her, you know.
And she loves droids more than anything in the world.
Vivien loves droids.
WOMAN: We did those scenes yesterday...
-(DROID BEEPING) -(GIGGLING)
MCGREGOR: I've got four children who are girls,
so I'm familiar with the looking after of girl children.
And although Obi's not a father,
that's what she brings out of him through the arc of our series.
A more paternal sense to him that life isn't just about living by the book.
At first, he doesn't trust her to be able to look after herself,
and then he slowly realizes she's not only able to,
but by the end she's absolutely involved in the escape.
So, he's found a trust in her and she brings out a more human side to him.
CHOW: One thing that Star Wars does make you feel
is you feel the connection to family.
I think a lot of these films, for me, and I think for a lot of people I know,
Star Wars was something you saw with your family,
and so, your family sort of tied in to the experience of it.
One of the things that was really interesting in bringing back
a lot of the legacy characters is that they know these characters.
They have also lived with these characters and lived in the public perception,
as being these characters for years.
Hayden is Anakin Skywalker, and he knows this.
So, to have them bring all that knowledge,
and it's more than knowledge, it's more instinct and emotional.
They just know what feels right for their characters. It's invaluable.
CHRISTENSEN: It's a very meditative process for me.
Sometimes my mind wanders, mostly about the scene we're about to do.
The difference between Anakin and Darth Vader...
Is Anakin completely gone or not?
He is fully Darth Vader, he is fully consumed by the dark side,
but I like to believe that there's always a little bit of Anakin still in there.
As it was explained to me by George Lucas,
even when he becomes Darth Vader, and even when he's
fully immersed in the dark side, he is still the Chosen One.
CHOW: As the series goes on, it's becoming more and more about Obi-Wan and Vader
and about the inevitable collision that's about to happen.
At this point, Obi-Wan is at his full powers again
and he is strong and his mind is at peace finally
and he realizes that he has to meet Vader.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
CHOW: Three, two, one, action!
We looked at a lot of the prequel fighting,
'cause we wanted to tie into it to show this is sort of the origins
and this is how they are trained.
And then we started to take it bigger and add some more modern elements to it.
And as the fight went on, nobody can get the high ground.
They will fight to the death, that's how this is gonna go.
CHRISTENSEN: Obi-Wan gets the upper hand in the fight,
and cracks Vader's mask,
sees his former apprentice one last time,
tries to connect with Anakin and gets rejected.
So, it's a heartbreaking scene.
MCGREGOR: I think there's something about the acceptance,
more than, he's then able to kill him, which he doesn't do.
He's able to walk away from carrying this terrible guilt.
He sees that Anakin is no longer there, that Vader is Vader.
So he's able to move on. There's a bit of closure for Obi-Wan.
With Vader, a large part of what we were trying to do is
show this emotional drive that Vader has about Obi-Wan
is that that's something that he has to let go of.
WOMAN: Okay, Ian, you good? IAN McDIARMID: Good.
CHOW: In the final scene with Vader and Palpatine,
that's what Palpatine is trying to say to him,
is that obsession with Obi-Wan is weakness.
If you're gonna live in the past,
this emotional Vader that's coming out
is not what we need for the future.
I wonder if your thoughts are clear on this, Lord Vader.
Perhaps your feelings for your old master have left you weakened.
Because obviously, we can play that with more of an edge
and some that are more casual.
Just feel free to do a range in there.
Does everything else feel like it's making sense?
Yes, I think so. I keep forgetting the word "execute" for some reason.
(CHUCKLES) You'd think that would be a word you could remember.
-Yeah. -(CHOW CHUCKLES)
CHOW: So he's forced into letting go of the past
in order to be able to move forward
and become the Darth Vader that will move into A New Hope.
MCGREGOR: At the end of our series,
there's a great growth from this broken faithless man
at the beginning to the end,
he's had to accept that this is who he is and he's got his faith back.
And Qui-Gon does finally appear. Yeah.
It was so amazing to work with Liam again,
because, of course, I only worked with Liam in the first film, you know.
So amazing to see him again as Qui-Gon, you know. It's just incredible.
LIAM NEESON: I spoke to Deborah a number of months ago.
And she told me that Ewan was going to do this series
and Deborah's, "Just something towards the end
"where Obi-Wan has gone through some journey and he's reaching out for help...
"and you're not there," that's Qui-Gon Jinn.
"And then, he sees you."
And I thought, "Yeah, I'm on board, I'm definitely onboard with that."
It was at once very familiar,
and at the same time, I kept thinking,
"Wait a minute, it's 24 years since we made The Phantom Menace."
And here we were with a whole brand-new crew.
Deborah, this wonderful director.
It was lovely to see Ewan.
And so the myth and the storytelling goes on.
MCGREGOR: Obi-Wan has re-established a connection with Qui-Gon,
and he's back to being the Obi-Wan that we knew and loved.
And it's because of Leia, and it's because of characters like Tala,
who bring that faith back to him, who bring hope back to him.
A New Hope.
That's pretty good, isn't it?
WOMAN: Rolling. MAN 1: Okay, rolling.
MAN 2: Rolling.
MAN 3: Here we go. And, action.
CHOW: And cut.
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Cutting.
(BELL RINGS)
WOMAN: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, that is a wrap, wrap!
(ALL CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
CHOW: So I just wanna thank everyone from the bottom of my heart.
I know this was a hugely long, epic journey.
I know it was super tough and our ambitions were so high.
But I feel like we matched them
and that's, honestly, because of all of you guys,
'cause everybody was here working tirelessly
and everything is reflected on screen.
So, from the top of the call sheet right down to the very bottom,
thank you from all of us.
(ALL CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
I've got some cigars left over from when my wee boy was born.
Disney won't like this very much, will they?
(ALL LAUGHING)
Cool. Anyway, death sticks are over here.
(ALL LAUGHING AND APPLAUDING)
Hello there.
MCGREGOR: I don't think there's anything like Star Wars.
It's just everywhere.
I often think about George, back in the '70s,
writing A New Hope and what he must feel about what he's created.
For her lines, it's better for her to be out.
It's better for her to be on this side of you.
It's so that she's closest to Luke.
Action!
(EMOTIONAL ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING)
MCGREGOR: It's extraordinary, how large the breadth of it is.
It's important, I think, to be mindful of that.
There's certainly nothing that I've ever done that has a fan base like this.
It's global, it's international, it's all over the world.
MAN: Action!
CHRISTENSEN: It's been a great honor and a privilege
to get to play this character.
The gift that George Lucas gave me when he cast me in this role was profound.
Coming back now to do more with this character,
I just felt a big responsibility, not only to George,
but to all of these people
that have contributed to making this character so great and iconic.
Star Wars has this staying power.
And I think that's because we're able to learn about ourselves
and the world around us through them.
And we learn about good and evil,
and what it is to be a hero,
giving yourself to something bigger than you.
It's a mythology that has now allowed others
to come in and build upon.
It's exciting to see the saga continue.
CHOW: Coming into the Star Wars galaxy and getting to be part of this world,
it's pretty special.
It's in everybody's life.
Everybody's grown up with it in some respect.
Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.
CHOW: So many people have such an emotional relationship to it
and so, it is quite meaningful in the broader context of your life.
The Star Wars audience, there's so many different generations involved in it
and there are so many people who care so passionately about it.
George Lucas created these characters
that are so rich and that have such huge inner lives.
And so taking on these characters
and trying to tell the middle part of the journey,
I feel hugely fortunate to be able to do this,
but also a big responsibility to trying to do it right.
(ORCHESTRAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
MAN 1: Celebration, I'm one hundred percent onboard
for everything that takes place today.
Emotions, overwhelming, phenomenal.
WOMAN 1: Totally happy, excited.
MAN 2: We're really excited to see what's behind those doors over there.
WOMAN 2: I know. My mind is blown right now.
I'm like, I can't even wait, the anticipation.
(ALL CHEERING)
It's pretty crazy for us 'cause not only are we at Celebration,
but we're also premiering the show.
And to have it all come to this giant culmination
it's a mixture where you feel nervous, but you also feel incredibly excited.
CHRISTENSEN: We've kinda been building up to this for a while,
the excitement is palpable,
and it's a big deal for me to get to be back and do this.
I'm excited to see what they make of it tonight.
It'll be cool to see.
WOMAN: How's everybody doing?
(ALL CHEERING)
I can't hear you!
(ALL CHEERING LOUDLY)
ALL: (CHANTING) Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan!
(CHANTING CONTINUES)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUDING LOUDLY)
Hello there, Star Wars Celebration!
(CHEERING)
We are back!
INGRAM: I was actually very even keel going out there.
And then I heard the audience and I was like,
"Oh, my God! This is really happening. "People are really about to see this."
MCGREGOR: I've never been to a Celebration before,
so I just wanted to see what that feels like
and meet real, real Star Wars fans.
MAN 1: I'm just so emotional,
a 50-year-old man crying like I was in the movie theater in 1977.
MAN 2: It's nice to see Ewan back in this role,
having Hayden come back and step in as Darth Vader,
it was just such a great pairing.
(LAUGHS)
Kinda like us.
CHRISTENSEN: You know, this whole experience has been
rather emotional for me.
I couldn't help but get a little bit choked up.
MCGREGOR: There's this warmth from the kids who we made those films for.
We were their Star Wars in the same way as Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford
and Alec Guinness were my Star Wars films.
CHOW: We worked very hard for three years.
And we did it for the fans.
So, it was really nice to be able to come out and share it with them.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)