While there’s certainly been no lack of debate amongst Star Wars fans about the quality of the Disney-era movies set in a galaxy far, far away, but let’s not forget that the Prequel Trilogy over a decade ago wasn’t exactly received with the highest of praise either. That said, as the years have passed since that particular trilogy concluded, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith have started to be looked at more kindly by some, and Ewan McGregor, who portrayed the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, is thankful for this appreciation. As he put it:
George Lucas wanted to do something very different with the prequels. That’s why people felt cheated. It was upsetting when people would laugh and joke about it. Now, many years later, the prequels meant a lot to the generation that were kids then. So from smirking, cynical opinions, now I’m getting feedback from the kids they were made for. I’m really happy about that.
While Ewan McGregor’s comments to Vanity Fair doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone who grew up in the late ‘90s to 2000s looks at the Star Wars prequels with kind eyes, he does have a point. As the actor acknowledged, George Lucas intended to make The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith different kinds of stories than what A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were. Whether or not you approve of those differences, for a generation, those Star Wars movies were influential, or at the very least led them to check out other corners of the Star Wars universe.
However you feel about the Star Wars prequels, they carved out a lot of new mythology for the franchise that’s still explored through video games, in-canon novels and comic books. Plus, three years after Revenge of the Sith’s release, The Clone Wars animated series came out, which canonically peeled back the curtain on the conflict that occurred between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. That series is returning for a seventh season on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
As for Ewan McGregor, while he’s expressed interest numerous times in reprising Obi-Wan Kenobi, so far there are no plans to make that happen. He did, however, briefly “return” to the character for The Force Awakens, where both his voice and Sir Alec Guinness’ voice were heard during Rey’s Force vision.
The final chapter of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode IX, arrives in theaters on December 20, but there are still plenty of Star Wars movies planned for afterwards, including Rian Johnson’s trilogy and the film series being overseen by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest updates on what’s happening with the space opera franchise.
