Obi-Wan Kenobi Actor Rory Ross Says All The Right Things Star Wars Fans Want To Hear [Exclusive]
"Where should the franchise go now?" is a question that continues to hang over the entirety of "Star Wars" now that the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker Saga have officially come to an end. While the movies continue to experience some turbulence, the television side of Lucasfilm keeps chugging along without much in the way of controversy (well, except when it comes to the manufactured kind, anyway) or divisiveness. Both seasons of "The Mandalorian" received rave reviews among audiences and critics, while the first season of "The Book of Boba Fett" will soon be coming to a close in the upcoming weeks before hype for "Ahsoka" takes over from there. Of course, I still maintain that "Star Wars: Visions" might very well be the boldest direction the franchise has taken since "The Last Jedi."
All in all, Lucasfilm must be feeling pretty good about what they've accomplished on Disney+ so far, but they still have at least one more ace up their sleeve. "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is shaping up to be a longtime "Star Wars" fan's dream come true, reuniting Ewan McGregor in the fan-favorite role as exiled Jedi Master Obi-Wan alongside the grand return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. The long-awaited rematch is sure to drive headlines and dominate social media once the series gets closer to its premiere date, but until then we have the word of one of the individuals involved in the show to tide us over.
/Film's Ryan Scott recently had the chance to interview actor Rory Ross, who plays a Tusken Raider in "The Book of Boba Fett" and will appear as a Stormtrooper in "Obi-Wan Kenobi." During the course of their conversation, Ross dropped a fun (and thoroughly non-spoilery) tease about what fans can expect from the upcoming series. To put the suspense to rest, fans should be very, very excited indeed.
"It's Just Going to Hopefully Blow People's Minds"
When fan expectations are already sky-high, it's never too early to raise them even higher. As a supporting player in two different "Star Wars" productions in two different roles, actor Rory Ross has a unique perspective on the franchise, the types of stories that excite fans, and a front-row seat to all the action. In response to how excited fans should be for "Obi-Wan Kenobi," Ross didn't hold back on his enthusiasm:
"It's going to be awesome. It's going to be really, really cool. Having the connective tissue between the prequels and 'A New Hope,' and just understanding where Obi has been and what's happening, story-wise, I think fans are going to enjoy that. It's just going to be a really great time. I think a lot of fans are like, 'Where's the trailer? What's happening?' I think the big part of it is [Lucasfilm] is just trying to make sure that it's as polished as possible, so that when it comes out, it's not going to have that 'Game of Thrones' moment, where there's a coffee cup in the corner that they missed or something like that. It's going to have a lot of love that's poured into it, and it's just going to hopefully blow people's minds and just really enjoy seeing what's been going on."
Though I have my personal reservations about just how much storytelling potential there is during a period of "Star Wars" history in-between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy, there's no denying the optimism and anticipation surrounding this project. We'll be sure to keep a close eye on "Obi-Wan Kenobi," which is scheduled to premiere later in 2022.