Kenobi, played first by Sir Alec Guinness and then by Ewan McGregor, is one of the most popular fixtures of the entire Star Wars canon. He was notoriously killed by Darth Vader in the very first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, but returned in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a Force Ghost. So can the same happen in Episode 9? That’s certainly what one new alleged leak suggests.
It all comes from Star Wars YouTuber Mike Zeroh, who posts huge volumes of videos for his 155,000 subscribers and has a decidedly hit-and-miss track record in terms of what turns out to be accurate.
His latest claims should be taken with a huge fistful of salt given that his sources are a complete mystery, but the speculation is – as ever – all part of the fun at this point.
He is said to have seen some leaked scene descriptions focussing on Kenobi, in which “it’s described that JJ Abrams [writer/director] and the visual effects team are in negotiations with Ewan to initiate facial scans to mix with a CGI version of Sir Alex Guinness – to create an Obi-Wan that bridges the two.”
He added: “JJ will be borrowing dialogue from Ewan from Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith to use as a reference in Episode 9.
“And Ewan is set to do some voiceover work – just like The Force Awakens but with more detail.”
Zeroh added that Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost this time will essentially be an amalgam of McGregor and Guinness.
Whether or not this is true is something we’ll have to wait a little long to find out, but McGregor – who has often been rumoured to be getting his own spin-off movie – has often said he is open to returning to a galaxy far, far away.
“I’d be happy to play [Obi-Wan] again,” he said a year ago. “I don’t know any more about it than you do.”
He was full of praise for Episode 9’s predecessor, the Rian Johnson-helmed The Last Jedi.
“I thought it was really, really beautiful”, he said. “I loved it.”
A trailer for Episode 9 is rumoured to be prepared for release in the very near future – although conflicting reports suggest we won’t see anything until Star Wars Celebration in April.
The title is also subject to much speculation, with stars including Naomi Ackie claiming they don’t even know what it is.
Star Wars 9 is out in December.