With the beloved-by-some spinoff The Book of Boba Fett now in the distant-ish past, the Star Wars marketing machine is now focused on the impending arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi’s first live-action trip to the small screen has sparked as much anticipation as any Star Wars project in the modern era, with many fans having clamored for Ewan McGregor to return to the role in the years after the prequel films. And with that return comes new franchise anecdotes from McGregor, who has revealed the hilariously perfect way he shows off his Jedi skills to the real world.
Thankfully, the Obi-Wan Kenobi star confirms that he hasn’t used any of his Jedi Mind Trick powers on other people for his own nefarious purposes. (Though that’s just what a nefarious person WOULD say.) But the Emmy-winning actor did share that he’s utilized such mental dexterity when it comes to — what else? — automatic doors in public. Here’s how McGregor put it when talking to EW:
I do it with doors! I like to do that with automatic doors just for my own amusement. I always do a little Jedi move for the doors and I have occasionally been caught doing it. You know, like at the supermarket or something when I'm wheeling my trolley out and I do a little…[finger slash].
I’d wager that most people who get caught pretending to open an automatic door with a Star Wars reference might feel a little sheepish in the moment, and Ewan McGregor did say that it’s “kind of embarrassing” when it happens, but most people are not known for portraying one of the galaxy’s most powerful robe-wearers. And the actor spoke to that innate sense of perceived magic in the moment, saying:
It's difficult not to, isn't it? It's fun. If the timing is right, it feels very powerful.
By all means, Ewan McGregor shouldn’t feel any amount of shame in being seen pulling off such moves with automatic doors. In fact, he should then follow it up by waving the door closed again, and then opening it for someone else when they walk up. And why stop there? He should also use his Jedi ways to lower car windows, to move a vehicle through an automatic car wash, to make vending machine snacks fall down, to make elevator doors open, and the list goes on.
We still have some months to go until Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives on May 25, a few weeks after Star Wars Day presumably gets fans even more hyped in some way. Hopefully with a compilation video of Star Wars actors pretending to open automatic doors with Jedi powers. Is it too much to ask? Oh, it is? Yeah, that makes sense.
At least the series finally released its first trailer, giving those with a Disney+ subscription an idea of what to expect. Although I don’t need any teasers to imagine the next time Obi-Wan and Darth Vader square off, and I can’t wait to see that sequence play out!
While waiting for Obi-Wan Kenobi to arrive on Disney+, be sure to check out all the other shows heading to the small screen soon with our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
