It has been 17 long years since Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Say what you will about the Star Wars prequels – they have left an impression.
1999's The Phantom Menace, 2002's Attack of the Clones and 2005's Revenge of the Sith were three of the most anticipated movies of all time, and in the decades since their arrival, the tide of popular opinion has changed on the trilogy, with more and more fans coming out of the woodwork to profess genuine love for them.
Regardless of whether you liked them or not, some of the casting was absolutely spot-on. So much so, that there has been a huge swell of support for Disney's new series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which will fill in some of the blanks between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
The show brings back many familiar faces from the prequels, with none-more-familiar than Ewan McGregor as Kenobi, and Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader – having completely shorn his Anakin persona at the tail-end of Episode III.
In the run-up to the release of the new show, JOE landed the Irish exclusive interviews with the cast and director, including McGregor and Christensen:
During our chats with McGregor, we had to ask him what it was like on set for that first day when he and Christensen were properly reuniting for the first time in nearly two decades.
McGregor told us: "Oh my god. I mean, just Hayden being on set was like... I came on set one day, and there was just hundreds of people standing around. I just couldn't figure it out, there was never that many people on set, I just didn't understand why there was [so many].
"It felt like someone had called them all on to give them a safety meeting or something. And then I looked over and there was Hayden, and I was like 'Oh yeah, of course, that's why!'. He was surrounded - at a distance - but there was always a ring [of people].
"He is so loved from those [prequel] movies, and it was such a big deal for him to come back. It just felt great, when we were acting together, it really felt like some kind of time warp, like the last 17 or 18 years didn't happen."
We also asked Christensen about this momentous day (check out our full interview with him below), and he told us:
"It was a really special day and that feeling was palpable. But honestly no-one was more excited than I was. Seeing Ewan again as Obi-Wan Kenobi was a surreal experience, and one that I'll remember for the rest of my life, I think."
You can also check out our interviews with the show's director Deborah Chow (right here), as well as Moses Ingram (right here), who is playing brand new villain Inquisitor Riva.
The first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi arrive on Disney+ on Friday, 27 May, with subsequent episodes arriving weekly on Wednesdays.
