Star Wars: Ewan McGregor Claims His Return as Obi-Wan Gave Him a "Shatner Moment"

Some Star Wars fans might consider William Shatner to be an enemy of the community, given that he's such a prominent figure in the "rival" Star Trek franchise, but Ewan McGregor recently confirmed that a moment in which he felt overwhelmed by fan support resulted in him feeling a "William Shatner moment." The actor went on to elaborate that, when he attended this year's D23 Expo and came on stage to announce a new Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series, the reaction from the crowd reminded him of exactly why he was so excited to reprise the role in the first place, a moment which Shatner similarly experienced earlier in his career.

"I had a William Shatner moment on there," McGregor shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live about the announcement experience. "William Shatner wrote a book called 'Get a Life' where he describes, his life was in a difficult place, and he went to his first convention. In his case, a Star Trek convention, and he was overwhelmed by this sense of love from the people and it changed his life. He wrote this book about it."

McGregor last played Kenobi in 2005's Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, resulting in more than a decade of speculation that the actor would return to the role. He went on to note that those talks didn't really pick up in earnest until Disney purchased Lucasfilm, forcing him to keep those talks a secret for years. When he was able to walk on stage in front of thousands of Disney fans alongside Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, McGregor felt a similar sense of passion from fans, confirming he made the right decision to return to the galaxy far, far away.

"I walked on stage and was greeted with that life-changing noise of excitement and it was just a big moment for me," the actor pointed out. "A real Shatner moment."

Host Kimmel was shocked to learn that McGregor had read the Shatner book, with the actor going on to recall that he had read it on the set of shooting a Star Wars film.

"Ahmed Best, bless him, who played Jar Jar Binks, and I ordered it on the set of Star Wars and we had it delivered and we would read it on the set of Star Wars, just because I loved the idea of a book by William Shatner called 'Get a Life,'" McGregor joked. "I think, we thought, it would be funny to read because of the Star Wars of it all. It turned out to be about him getting a life."

With two live-action Star Wars series having been announced before McGregor's, we might not see the Obi-Wan Kenobi series until 2021.

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