Ewan McGregor: Dealing with the unpopularity of the Star Wars prequels was hard

Ewan McGregor (Jane Barlow/PA)

Ewan McGregor has said it was “hard” when the Star Wars prequel films were “universally not very much liked”.

The actor played Obi Wan Kenobi in three Star Wars prequels from 1999 to 2005.

He told the Hollywood Reporter it was “hard they didn’t get well received”.

(Isabel Infantes/PA)

McGregor added: “That was quite difficult. They were universally not very much liked.”

He is reprising his role as the jedi in a series for Disney’s streaming platform.

The Scottish star said he is “really excited” about the project.

“Maybe more so than the first ones, because I’m older – I just turned 50 – and I’m just in a much better place,” he said.

McGregor said working on 2005 Star Wars film Revenge Of The Sith was difficult because it was largely done in front of a screen rather than on a set.

“After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious – especially when the scenes are… I don’t want to be rude, but it’s not Shakespeare,” he said.

“There’s not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when there’s no environment there.

“It was quite hard to do.”

(Isabel Infantes/PA)

McGregor said that during filming for the new series the backgrounds are projected “onto this massive LED screen”.

“So if you’re in a desert, you’re standing in the middle of a desert,” he said.

“If you’re in the snow, you’re surrounded by snow. And if you’re in a cockpit of a starfighter, you’re in space.

“It’s going to feel so much more real.”