Ewan McGregor Pitches Obi-Wan and Hera Syndulla Romance for His Star Wars Return

Ewan McGregor has spent years signaling he isn’t done with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his latest comments make clear just how far his imagination has run with the character’s next chapter. The actor has become something of an unofficial pitch man for his own franchise return, dropping ideas in interviews whenever the opportunity arises.

That pattern continued at the Variety Lounge during the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where McGregor got candid about the concepts he’s floated to Lucasfilm leadership. It turns out he’s taken his ambitions well beyond casual interview chatter, going so far as to bring his pitches directly to the person who could actually greenlight them.

McGregor revealed he approached Lucasfilm president and chief creative officer Dave Filoni with his ideas while Filoni was shooting ‘Ahsoka’ season two, a production that happens to star McGregor’s own wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, as New Republic general Hera Syndulla. According to the actor, the pitch process was casual but persistent, telling Filoni there had to be some kind of story left to tell for Kenobi.

One of those ideas centers on Yoda, with McGregor noting that after the events following Episode III, Obi-Wan would have had no contact with the Jedi Master as the pair scattered to different corners of the galaxy. But the concept that’s generated the most buzz involves something considerably more personal: a potential romance between Obi-Wan and Hera herself.

McGregor didn’t hold back when explaining how the idea took shape. Speaking about the moment his wife joined the ‘Ahsoka’ cast, he told Variety, “I got very excited when Mary started working on ‘Ahsoka’. I thought, maybe this is the big love story — Obi-Wan and Hera.”

The pitch does come with a built-in obstacle, and McGregor is aware of it. He acknowledged that Kenobi and Hera exist in different eras of the ‘Star Wars’ timeline, since ‘Ahsoka’ is set years after Obi-Wan’s death in the original trilogy era. Still, the actor pointed out that “time doesn’t really mean anything” across the franchise’s various corners of its expanded universe, leaving the door open to some kind of workaround.

Whether that means a time-jumping narrative device or some other creative solution remains unclear, and Lucasfilm hasn’t indicated any of McGregor’s pitches are actively in development. Filoni himself recently told Variety on the D23 red carpet that the long-rumored ‘Hunt for Ben Solo’ film is not currently moving forward, which suggests the studio’s future slate is still very much in flux.

Regardless of which idea ultimately gets a green light, McGregor made his enthusiasm for returning to the role unmistakably clear. “I enjoyed doing the series very much… and would be happy to do it again. I like playing him — he’s a really good character to play,” he said, reaffirming an eagerness that’s followed him since his 2022 solo series wrapped its first season.

The real-life connection between McGregor and Winstead adds a layer of charm to the whole pitch that fans have quickly latched onto. The two met on the set of ‘Fargo’ in 2016 and have been married for two years, and this wouldn’t be the first time their careers have quietly intersected within the same franchise universe.

McGregor’s family ties to ‘Star Wars’ run deeper still, with his uncle Denis Lawson having played Rebel Alliance pilot Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy, and his daughter Esther-Rose McGregor appearing in a brief cameo during ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi.’ Winstead joining as Hera effectively made it a three-generation family affair within the same galaxy far, far away.

For now, fans will have to settle for imagining what a Kenobi-Hera storyline might look like, since nothing concrete has been confirmed. But given how vocal McGregor has been about wanting more time in the role, it seems unlikely he’ll stop pitching ideas to Filoni anytime soon.

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