Latino-Review is reporting that they’ve confirmed through three different sources that Ewan McGregor is returning to the Star Wars universe in Episode VII as a force ghost, taking over for Alec Guinness.
For his part, McGregor has said previously that he’d be happy to return if they needed him to a galaxy far, far away.
It wouldn’t be difficult to use make up and digital effects to get McGregor to more closely match Alec Guinness in the classic trilogy.
If this turns out to be true (and certainly take this with a grain of salt, as you do with any rumour), this is the nail in the coffin that they’re tossing out the Expanded Universe. In the books, Obi-wan, for some reason, had to move on to a nether region of the force and never again return in his spirit form.
Thankfully, it sounds as though that would be re-written.
And this also opens the door for Hayden Christensen to return, which I’d love to see. More than anything, I think a scene between Hayden as Anakin’s force ghost and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker would make me about melt from geek overload.
McGregor has also talked about his interest in a solo film for Kenobi, and I don’t think that would be a bad idea. Sure, a straight adaptation of John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi would be great, but I bet there are a thousand missions Obi-wan could be doing that wouldn’t need to involve his exile on Tatooine.
As with everything labeled rumour, don’t believe it for certain until it’s confirmed. But you can take into account that Latino-review is reliable and Ewan coming back for the part just makes sense. Doubly so on the heels of the Palpatine rumours.
Episode VII starts filming early next year and comes out in the summer of 2015.