Ewan McGregor Gives Disappointing OBI-WAN KENOBI Season 2 Update, but He’s Got a Great Idea

Four years after Obi-Wan Kenobi brought Ewan McGregor back to the galaxy far, far away, fans are still waiting to find out whether the Jedi Master will get another adventure on Disney+. Unfortunately, anyone hoping that Season 2 has secretly started moving forward probably isn’t going to love the latest update.

McGregor says there hasn’t been any progress on Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2, despite both him and Hayden Christensen wanting to return.

The good news is that McGregor already has a pretty compelling reason for Lucasfilm to make it happen. There’s a huge chunk of Obi-Wan’s life that remains unexplored, and the first season ended by opening the door to one particularly interesting chapter.

When The Mandalorian arrived shortly before Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker closed out the sequel trilogy, it looked like Star Wars was preparing to make Disney+ a major home for the franchise.

That certainly happened, with projects such as Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Andor, The Acolyte, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan Kenobi expanding different corners and eras of the galaxy.

Some of those series had clearly defined endings. Andor, for example, ultimately became a two-season story that wrapped up exactly where it needed to before the events of Rogue One.

Other projects weren’t so lucky. The Acolyte wasn’t renewed for a second season despite plenty of speculation about where its story could go next.

Obi-Wan Kenobi has always occupied a stranger position. The show was presented as a limited series, but talk of a possible continuation started almost immediately, with McGregor repeatedly expressing his desire to pick up the lightsaber again.

Four years later, he still wants another shot at it. Unfortunately, Lucasfilm apparently hasn’t come calling yet. While discussing the possibility of Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2 with Entertainment Weekly, McGregor explained that both he and Christensen remain interested in returning. He also offered his own pitch for why Obi-Wan’s story still has plenty of room to continue:

“Come on, Disney. Come on. I don’t think we are [closer to that], no. I don’t know of any progress in that direction, but I would like to think that there might be…

“We finished this series with me walking off with Liam Neeson on my camel, which is an Eopie. And then what happens between then and when it’s Alec Guinness, I mean, there’s got to be a good few stories left to tell.”

The finale featured Liam Neeson returning as Qui-Gon Jinn, finally appearing to Obi-Wan as a Force Ghost on Tatooine. It was more than a fun cameo for longtime Star Wars fans. Qui-Gon’s arrival indicated that Obi-Wan was ready to continue his training and eventually learn how to preserve his consciousness through the Force after death.

A whole season of Qui-Gon giving Obi-Wan Force Ghost lessons probably isn’t going to carry eight episodes, but that doesn’t mean the concept couldn't be part of something much bigger.

There are nearly ten years separating the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars: A New Hope, leaving Lucasfilm with plenty of unexplored territory. We know where Obi-Wan eventually ends up, but knowing a character’s destination has never prevented Star Wars from telling a great story. Andor proved that pretty damn well.

Christensen’s desire to return also creates another possibility. Darth Vader is very much active during this period, and a second season could explore what Anakin Skywalker is doing while Obi-Wan continues his transformation into the older Jedi Master eventually played by Alec Guinness.

Of course, bringing Vader and Obi-Wan together again would be tricky. The first season already pushed the limits of how many encounters could be squeezed between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope without making their Death Star reunion feel strange.

If Vader returns, I’d rather see Lucasfilm explore his own story during the same period instead of manufacturing another lightsaber rematch between the two.

As for whether Disney and Lucasfilm will actually greenlight Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 2, McGregor’s comments suggest fans shouldn't expect an announcement anytime soon. There apparently isn't any meaningful movement on the project right now.

Then again, Star Wars fans have played this game with McGregor before. For years, the actor denied that he was secretly preparing to return as Obi-Wan while rumors about the project continued circulating. So, depending on how much faith you want to put in his latest comments, maybe there's still room for a surprise.

While Obi-Wan Kenobi ultimately ended up being underwhelming, I’d absolutely be up for another story with McGregor in the role. There were things I enjoyed about the series, particularly seeing McGregor and Christensen reunited, but the show never reached the potential of its premise.

A second season could be an opportunity to fix that. I’d like to think the creative team at Lucasfilm could look at what didn't work the first time around, learn from those mistakes, and come back with a stronger story.

Obi-Wan is one of the best characters Star Wars has given us, McGregor clearly loves playing him, and there's still a substantial period of his life that hasn't been explored onscreen.

McGregor's pitch is also a much more interesting starting point than simply finding an excuse to have Obi-Wan fight Vader again. Give us Obi-Wan learning from Qui-Gon.

Show us more of his evolution from the broken Jedi we saw at the beginning of the Disney+ series into the wise, confident mentor we meet in A New Hope. Maybe even run Vader's story alongside it without forcing their paths to cross.

There's plenty of Star Wars story sitting in those missing years. Disney just has to decide whether it wants to tell it.