as well as Hayden Christensen taking on the role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to hit Disney+ on May 27.
While many fans are aware that McGregor first took on the role of Obi-Wan back in the 1999 film The Phantom Menace, some may not be aware that this is not actually the actor's first connection to the Star Wars franchise. McGregor's uncle Denis Lawson appears in all three films of the original Star Wars trilogy. Lawson can be seen as Wedge the rebel pilot. Audiences may Wedge as a pilot who participated in the assault on the Death Star in A New Hope, the battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, and the second assault on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. Impressively, Wedge also survives the entire trilogy.
In a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! while promoting Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor has recalled getting to see his uncle in Star Wars when it first hit theatres. According to McGregor, he recalls waiting outside his school when he was only five or six years old, and his parents picked him up to take him and his brother "to watch a movie that my uncle Dennis was in." McGregor has described how excited he and his brother were to discover that the film they were in the city to see was none other than Star Wars. According to McGregor, the film "blew our minds away." See his full quote below:
"But I standing outside the school. I was five or six, and I was standing outside the school with my brother, and my mom and dad picked us up, and they were taking us to 'the big city' to watch a movie that my uncle Dennis was in. And so we went, and we were so excited to go and see, you know, your uncle in a movie. It was so exciting! And then we sat down there and it was Star Wars! It just sort of blew our minds away."
What is perhaps sweetest about the story is McGregor has gone on to speak about how he has maintained a relationship with Lawson over the years. According to McGregor, he will frequently call Lawson while on set for a project as he is the only member of the family he trusts to give acting advice. This, of course, makes sense, as while McGregor now plays one of the most iconic Star Wars characters of all time, he was first introduced to the universe through his uncle. It's almost as if the pair have made a family business out of the Star Wars franchise.
While the two have currently both appeared in several Star Wars films (with Lawson actually starring in more due to his appearance in The Rise of Skywalker), McGregor and Lawson have yet to appear in a Star Wars film together. Perhaps as McGregor's timeline gets closer to A New Hope fans will get to see this onscreen meeting one day. Multiple Star Wars films have shown that de-aging techniques are not difficult for the filmmakers to utilize, so it isn't hard to imagine that this special moment could be accomplished. With that said, it has not been revealed exactly how far into the future Obi-Wan Kenobi will go, so audiences can only wait for the series to be released to see what surprises await.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live!
