Prequel actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen were already confirmed to be reprising their roles as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and Game of Thrones actress Indira Varma was also previously rumored to be appearing in a mystery role. Now Disney Plus has revealed the rest of the cast which features some other familiar faces, as well as some newcomers to the Star Wars galaxy. The rest of the cast includes Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie.
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Edgerton and Piesse are likely reprising their roles as Owen and Beru Lars, who they first portrayed in the prequel film Star Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clones and then again briefly at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Fans will remember Owen and Beru as Luke Skywalker’s Aunt and Uncle from the original trilogy, who tragically met their fate at the hands of the Empire in Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope. It’s unclear as to who the other cast members will be playing in this series, but it’s certainly a stacked list of all-star talent. Kumail Nanjiani of HBO’s Silicon Valley is also set to play a leading role in the Marvel superhero movie Eternals later this year. Other big names include O’Shea Jackson Jr., who portrayed his father Ice Cube in the Oscar-nominated music biopic Straight Outta Compton, Sung Kang, who’s known as fan-favorite Han in the Fast and the Furious franchise, and Benny Safdie of the Uncut Gems directing duo known as the Sadie Brothers.
With the confirmation that Owen and Beru will be featured in Obi-Wan Kenobi, this could mean that we’ll see a young Luke Skywalker in this series. While it’s implied in A New Hope that Luke and Obi-Wan don’t really have a relationship prior to that film, it’s not impossible for them to have met at a previous time. Luke would be about 9 or 10 years old (about the same age as Anakin in The Phantom Menace) depending on when exactly the series takes place, so a young actor portraying the hero seems plausible. However, it’s also implied in A New Hope that Owen Lars has made a conscious effort to keep Obi-Wan away from Luke, so we may get greater context of their conflicted relationship in the series.
Along with the casting news, Disney has announced that production on the series will officially begin next month. LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy had previously stated during Disney’s investor day that production would begin in March of 2021, but that was likely pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Obi-Wan Kenobi is directed by Deborah Chow, who directed two episodes from season 1 of The Mandalorian, executive produced by Kathleen Kennedy and written by Joby Harold.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi will be available exclusively on Disney Plus in 2022.
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Source: Starwars.com
