Culture news “A very Disney thing”: Ewan McGregor is not a fan of the new Star Wars trilogy, he criticizes this detail which says a lot about the direction taken by the saga
Years after his first appearance in the saga, the sword of this flagship character is still very much debated.
In 2015, Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens was released. A very evocative title because it announced the return of one of the most important sagas of cinema, after more than 10 years of absence. But even though the film recorded one of the biggest scores at the global box office ($2 billion), it provoked numerous debates. The Disney-style version of Star Wars was based on nostalgia for the original trilogy while offering a much more watered-down universe than in the previous films. Some new aspects of the film were quite criticized, in particular the lightsaber of the villain of this story, Kylo Ren.
A useless appearance
In the first trailers, the appearance of Kylo Ren’s saber caused excitement among spectators. This red saber, the color of the Sith Lords, with a guard on each side of the blade, gives it an almost Christ-like appearance. But now, once the film was released, this weapon caused numerous debates, with some judging its appearance too childish.. This is the case of Ewan McGregor, Obiwan himself. In several interviews, notably the one given to Vanityfair, he explains the two reasons which prevent him from appreciating the design of the red saber. On the one hand, he believes that it is of no use:
“If you know how to handle a lightsaber, like we did, you don’t need one.” »
On the other hand, he finds that this aspect is more childish than anything else and testifies to Disney’s view of the saga: “It’s a very Disney thing, right? Because this lightsaber looks like it was made by a child”. He who only lived for the distinguished elegance of sword fights, seeing this design seemed to disturb him a lot. But this strong opinion is quite ironic when we see the result of the series based on his own character.
A series for children?
Recording a score of 63% positive opinions from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, the Obi-Wan series released in 2022 has somewhat divided the community. Although it introduces some pretty interesting new characters, it still has the same problems as many of Disney’s Star Wars productions.. Obvious plot shortcuts, few violent scenes and a very childish overall aspect. In short, some of what McGregor was criticizing about Star Wars 7 found herself in her own series. Irony of fate.