In the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, Ewan McGregor does something he never did during his run in the prequel trilogy. That, of course, is encounter Darth Vader in his final form. In Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker duke it out on Mustafar. It’s gutting for the Jedi Master, as he cuts down his former apprentice and best friend who turned to the dark side and leaves him to die. It’s these injuries that land the Sith Lord in that iconic mask. But with McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprising their roles from the Star Wars prequels, McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader finally face off. And apparently, it was pretty scary to film.
Speaking with Total Film ahead of the Star Wars series debut on Disney+, McGregor talked about encountering Darth Vader on set. The Birds of Prey star revealed that his first time acting opposite Darth Vader as Obi-Wan occurs on-screen in Obi-Wan Kenobi. And he was scared sh*tless to meet the iconic foe face to face.
“I’ve never met Darth Vader. I had rehearsed the scene with Vader, but not with the helmet on or anything like that. When we came to do the scene, when they shouted ‘action’, he had to come from behind me. I turned around, and f***ing Darth Vader was coming at me. It was like I was six again. I’d never acted into Vader’s helmet. I’d never looked him in the eye,” McGregor told Total Film. “It scared the sh*t out of me. I’m not joking. It gave me a proper jolt of absolute fear. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not acting. That’s real. I’m really, truly frightened right now.’”
All this chatter certainly has us pretty excited for this new journey with Obi-Wan Kenobi. The series picks up a decade after that fateful Mustafar battle. The Mandalorian director Deborah Chow helms the show, featuring scripts by Joby Harold We’ll see how the sinister showdown between Darth Vader and McGregor’s Obi-Wan plays out when Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts on May 27.
