Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Cast Fans as Extras in Disney+ Series

For more than 40 years, the galaxy far, far away has been earning countless passionate fans thanks to all manner of stories being told in the franchise, with stars of various Star Wars projects being self-professed fans themselves, but to help expand the ensemble of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series enlisted the help of devout fanatics to portray extras. Not only was this an opportunity to give back to the community, but it also served a practical purpose, as reaching out to droid-builders meant the series could easily incorporate impressive props that conveyed an authenticity and diversity for the galaxy’s mechanical creations.

“The extras were incredible on the set, and a lot of them were mega Star Wars fans,” Maya Erskine shared with the Just for Variety podcast. “One guy, he was so nice and he lifted up his sleeves and had Star Wars tattoos over his whole body. And they build droids. There are lot of Star Wars fans that build droids, and then the production companies will rent [them] from the fans.”

Erskine even hoped to sneak her newborn into the experience.

“I got to bring my baby to set,” Erskine admitted. “I wanted to wrap him in a shawl and have him pass as an extra in Star Wars.”

Details about the series and the new figures that have joined the adventure have been kept tightly under wraps, with Erskine noting that her role is merely a “speck” of the experience, yet she did confirm, “Deborah Chow is an amazing director. The cast was incredible. It was so fun to do.”

The actor also went on to note that she’s quite familiar with the passion of the Star Wars fandom, as she confirmed, “My brother, who’s a mega fan, was like, ‘If you don’t take this, I will disown you. You have to be part of this universe.’”

As the Star Wars franchise continues to expand in a variety of ways, giving fans feature films, TV series, and animated adventures, yet the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series has arguably been more than 15 years in the making. Regardless of the overall mixed reactions to the Star Wars prequels, they gave us Ewan McGregor as Kenobi, with fans clamoring for more of this take on the character since 2005’s Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. After a number of close calls and reports that McGregor was mounting a return to the series, it finally happens in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2022.

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!