Star Wars: Ewan McGregor Reveals Surprising Episode II Fact Ahead of Obi-Wan Kenobi

This week marked 20 years since Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones hit theatres, which is perfect timing considering there’s a lot of love for the prequels going around thanks to the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The new Disney+ show will mark 17 years since Ewan McGregor played the beloved Jedi, and he’s been reminiscing about his time in the franchise and learning that there are a lot more prequel fans than he thought. Today, McGregor took part in an Obi-Wan Kenobi press conference and talked about making Attack of the Clones, and revealed an interesting behind-the-scenes fact. 

Back in 2002, the digital cameras on the set of the second prequel were so loud that none of the audio from the set could be used during the film. “We had to ADR every single line of Episode II,” McGregor revealed. “None of the original dialogue made it through because of that, because the cameras were so like new, you know? None of the bugs had been worked out yet. So, compared to what we’re doing now, is like night and day, really.”

Not only will Obi-Wan Kenobi feature the return of McGregor, but also Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. The show’s cast also features the return of Joel Edgerton as Owen Lars and Bonnie Piesse as Beru Lars. Star Wars newcomers include Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Maya Erskine, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie. Chow, who directed two episodes of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, is set to direct the entire series, which will take place ten years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and nine years before the original Star Wars.

“They were not seemingly well received,” McGregor explained of the prequels in the recent press conference. “There was no social media there was no direct avenue to the fans at the time. The fans were kids. When the first film came out [in 1977] … I was 6 or 7 when it came out. I’ll never forget that feeling and how my relationship with Star Wars, all those original first three films, that’s one of the crazy things about being in Star Wars at all … Once those kids who were my age when the prequels came grew up a bit and I was able to meet them, I started hearing that people really liked them and they started to understand why I thought people didn’t like them when they came out … It’s nice to be here.” 

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi debuts on Disney+ on May 27th.