Ewan McGregor has expressed shock over Star Wars fans who tell him they prefer the polarising prequels to the original trilogy.
McGregor portrayed a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the trio of Star Wars prequels that ran from 1999 until 2005: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
The films were beset by criticism from both old and new fans of the franchise, but McGregor has now said that he is aware of their resurgence in popularity, despite being somewhat surprised by it.
“Our films weren’t much liked when they came out, by my generation who loved the first ones,” he told Empire Online. “I think people of our generation wanted to feel the way they’d felt when they saw those first three movies when they were kids, and George [Lucas] wanted to take our ones in a different direction, he had a different idea. It was tricky at the time, I remember.”
He continued: “All these years later, I’m really aware of what our films meant to the generation they were made for, the children of that time. They really like them. I’ve met people who – they mean a lot to them, those films, more so than the original three, and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding?’”
Despite criticism levelled at the films, McGregor will reprise his Obi-Wan role for a forthcoming Disney+ limited series.
To be directed by Deborah Chow, who recently directed episodes of The Mandalorian, the Obi-Wan series is expected to begin production in 2021.
In January, McGregor denied reports that “creative differences” behind the scenes had delayed the series, calling the rumours “bulls***”.
McGregor also recently disclosed his support for Scottish independence.
