O’Shea Jackson Jr. discussed joining the Star Wars franchise in the upcoming new event series, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
2021 has been a relatively quiet year for the Star Wars franchise so far. Sure, we had the release of Star Wars: The Bad Batch and Star Wars: Visions as well as a new LEGO Halloween special, but the newest major live-action entry, The Book of Boba Fett won’t premiere until the very end of this year. However, 2022 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years in the franchise’s history, with multiple shows set to hit Disney Plus, including the long-awaited Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Ewan McGregor returns as the iconic Jedi Master, while Hayden Christensen will play Darth Vader. Meanwhile, new cast members will also take part in the series, including O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Following his film debut playing his real-life father Ice Cube in the hip hop biopic Straight Outta Compton, O’Shea Jackson Jr. went on to pursue a respectable acting career, with roles in films such as Ingrid Goes West, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Just Mercy. Now, he joins the Star Wars universe in a mystery role for Obi-Wan Kenobi. In a recent interview with Collider, he touched on how he ended up getting the role, and reflected on missing out on the young Lando Calrissian role in Solo, in which Donald Glover played the beloved character:
“Yeah. I was watching Star Wars before I came down here right now. I’m a real big Star Wars fan. I had auditioned for Lando for the Solo film, and when I didn’t get it, it crushed me. I was like, ‘You know what? I quit. I’m going back to being a writer. I’m done.’ I was filming Swagger, and my agents were like, ‘Yo, we need you free in the next two days, noon.’ I’m like, ‘All right.’ They’re like, ‘Just listen. You want to take this meeting.’
So I took it and it was Deb, Lord Deb. Shout out to Lord Deb. Deborah Chow. She gave me an opportunity of a lifetime and it’s a… God, I can’t wait to talk about it so bad. I want to talk about it so bad, but I know Mickey probably still has my phone bugged, and I just love my family.”
O’Shea Jackson Jr. had nothing but high praises for Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, Ewan McGregor. He also found some inspiration from his co-star Kumail Nanjiani:
“All I’m going to say is, I really am a fan of Ewan McGregor. That’s my boy. And my man, Kumail. Kumail is my dog. Kumail’s really been a major motivation for me when it comes to getting in shape for Den of Thieves 2, because of just how jacked he got for Eternals. Yeah, he’s got his line open for me, any questions that I need. Yeah, he’s got an action figure now, because he’s in the Eternals. I’m going to need that. He said he’ll give me a good price for it. So we’ll see how that goes.”
The identity of O’Shea Jackson Jr’s character (as well as the majority of the Obi-Wan Kenobi cast) remains unknown, but we will find out sometime next year when the highly-anticipated new Star Wars series finally drops. Either way, at least the cast is one of the most exciting of any entry in the beloved franchise.
Directed by Deborah Chow from Joby Harold’s scripts, Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is expected to hit Disney Plus in 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the upcoming Star Wars series and O’Shea Jackson Jr’s role, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Collider
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