Tag Archives: Star Wars

‘That Was Hard’: Ewan McGregor Reflects On Massive Backlash Against Star Wars Prequels

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Ewan McGregor vividly remembers joining the Star Wars universe to critical disaster.

While the Scotsman had already starred in notable films when Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999) began production, McGregor’s casting as Obi-Wan Kenobi raised his profile overnight. The critical backlash, however, ultimately proved just as memorable.

“I am happy that I am this character for a lot of people, but when these films came out, they were so disliked,” McGregor told Variety in an interview published on Wednesday. “That was hard. The first one was panned, and we still had to make another two!”

He continued, “It was weird to be in a film that was hammered.”

George Lucas built an empire out of Star Wars (1977) and its sequels, which introduced whole generations to lightsabers, handsome rogues and a digestible notion of good vs. evil. The fandom certainly hadn’t gone dormant after but powerfully reawakened in 1998.

While the Menace teaser attached to Meet Joe Black at the time spawned massive enthusiasm, the $115 million film itself was critically trounced for its childish humor, narrative flaws and overwhelming use of CGI. It maintains a 52% Rotten Tomatoes rating to this day.

McGregor had signed on for two more sequels, which were received only marginally better. The actor clearly survived the backlash and went on to have an impressive career, which arguably began years before Menace under the direction of Danny Boyle.

McGregor recently reprised his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a titular Disney+ series.
McGregor recently reprised his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a titular Disney+ series.

Julia Reinhart via Getty Images

Boyle had cast McGregor in Shallow Grave (1994) and Trainspotting (1996), but made Leonardo DiCaprio the lead of his 2000 follow-up The Beach. McGregor felt famously slighted by this, as he was far more interested in that role than he was in any Star Wars.

“It wasn’t a done deal for me,” he told Variety about playing Obi-Wan Kenobi. “I didn’t think it was at all who I was. I believed, at that point, I was a Danny Boyle actor. The Beach was more important and I meant it, it wasn’t flippant. I did ask a lot of people for advice.”

The actor ultimately returned to the role in 2022 for a Disney+ miniseries, which not only spawned massive enthusiasm from fans — but a positive Rotten Tomatoes score. Whether McGregor will return to the show remains to be seen, though he certainly wouldn’t mind.

He told Variety, “I would love to do the second season, but there’s no talk of it yet.”

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King Charles Said WHAT To Natalie Portman at The Phantom Menace Premiere?

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During the press tour for her new film May December, Natalie Portman is taking time is taking time to reflect on some of her biggest movies to date.

In an interview with Andy Cohen for Watch What Happens Live! recently, the Oscar-winner was asked about her early work, including the 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

Portman starred as Padmé Amidala, a role she would reprise in the sequels Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, back when she was just 18 years of age.

Whilst discussing her experience on set and her willingness to reprise the role in future Star Wars properties, Cohen asked Portman what she thought of getting to meet The Royal Family at The Phantom Menace premiere back in ’99.

“I remember Prince Charles, he was then Prince Charles, asked me if I was in the originals. I was like, ‘No, I’m 18!’ But he was very friendly.”

The original Stars Wars saga began in 1977 with Star Wars, and kickstarted the careers of leads Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. Portman, meanwhile, was born only two years old when the final film – Return of the Jedi – was released in 1983.

Then Prince of Wales meets Natalie Portman at The Phantom Menace Royal Film Performance at the Odeon Leicester Square
Then Prince of Wales meets Natalie Portman at The Phantom Menace Royal Film Performance at the Odeon Leicester Square

John Stillwell/PA Images via Getty Images

The actress, who had already starred in blockbuster Léon: The Professional by the time she appeared in her first Star Wars film, also revealed it was her first time working digitally with a green screen, which was “amazing”.

“I don’t think anyone was shooting that way then. It was my first time working with a green screen. It was a whole new set of skills to pick up and a whole new world to enter.”

The Phantom Menace was only Portman’s sixth feature film. She has since gone on to star in the likes of Closer, V for Vendetta, Thor, Jackie and Black Swan, for which she won a Best Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Portman admitted to Cohen that even though no one has asked her to reprise her Star Wars character, she would be open to doing so.

This comes after filmmaker Taika Waititi revealed to Rolling Stone that he once shared his plans for directing an upcoming Star Wars with Portman, and asked her if she would ever consider joining the franchise.

“I’ve been in Star Wars movies”, she told Waititi, who was forced to admit that he had forgotten she’d starred quite significantly in the prequel trilogy.

You can watch Natalie Portman’s Watch What Happens Live appearance here, and catch May December on Sky Cinema in the UK from 8 December.

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Punisher And Thor Actor Ray Stevenson Dies Aged 58

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Actor Ray Stevenson – known for films including King Arthur and Punisher – has died at the age of 58, his representatives have confirmed.

The Northern Irish actor died on Sunday, though no further details were immediately made available.

Stevenson also starred in multiple television shows including as soldier Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO series Rome from 2005-2007, as well as a spin-off series for the Star Wars franchise.

He starred as Porthos in the 2011 film The Three Musketeers – alongside Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen and Milla Jovovich – and was in Divergent with Kate Winslet and Zoe Kravitz in 2014.

More recently, he appeared as the villainous Governor Scott Buxton in the 2022 Oscar-winning Bollywood film RRR.

Stevenson began his career appearing on TV shows in the 1990s then landed action roles in Hollywood films starting in the 2000s.

His first major role came in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004’s movie King Arthur, alongside Clive Owen, Ray Winstone and Keira Knightley.

The actor played Dagonet, one of the knights of the Round Table.

In 2008, Stevenson landed the lead role in Marvel’s Punisher: War Zone, where he played the titular character and his alias Frank Castle – becoming the third actor to do so onscreen.

He later appeared in other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Asgardian warrior Volstagg in Thor, Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok.

Stevenson also held various roles in the Star Wars universe, lending his voice to Disney’s popular Mandalorian series.

At the 2023 Star Wars celebration in London, it was announced he would appear in the upcoming Ahsoka series.

Following news of his death the Peter Mayhew Foundation, set up by the actor who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars films, tweeted: “We are sad to hear of the passing of Ray Stevenson.

“You may recognise Ray as Baylon Skoll from the upcoming Ahsoka show on Disney+.

“You may also remember his work as the voice of Mandalorian super commando Gar Saxon in The Clone Wars. Our sincerest condolences to his family.”

Actor James Purefoy, who portrayed Mark Antony in Rome, tweeted: “So sad to hear the news that Ray Stevenson, our Pullo in Rome, has passed away. A brilliant, gutsy, larger-than-life actor who filled every part he played right up to the brim. My thoughts are with his family, his lovely wife Betta and their beautiful kids. What a loss.”

Film director James Gun tweeted: “Damn. So sorry to hear about the passing, far too young, of Ray Stevenson. I only knew him a little from shooting post-credits of Thor 2 & a couple interactions at events, but we had some good laughs & he was a joy to work with. His friends & family are in my heart today.”

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Star Wars Defends Moses Ingram Against Racist Attacks From Obi-Wan Kenobi Viewers

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After Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Moses Ingram revealed on social media the onslaught of racist harassment she’s received since the Disney+ series premiered last week, the Star Wars franchise stepped up Monday to show support for Ingram.

Moses plays Reva Sevander, also known as the Third Sister, who is hunting Obi-Wan Kenobi for Darth Vader in the new series.

The Emmy-nominated actor shared on her Instagram the hateful messages fired at her from fans of the series, including atrocious messages using the N-word and claims that she’s part of the show only as a “diversity hire.”

“There’s nothing anybody can do about this. There’s nothing anybody can do to stop this hate,” Ingram said in a video posted to her Instagram story. “I question my purposes in even being here in front of you saying that this is happening. I don’t really know.”

She spoke on the pain of being targeted by racist harassment and thanked supporters who have stuck by her: “The thing that bothers me is this feeling inside of myself, that no one has told me, but this feeling that I have to shut up and take it, that I have to grin and bear it. And I’m not built like that. So, I wanted to come on and say thank you to the people who show up for me in the comments and the places that I’m not going to put myself. And to the rest of y’all, y’all weird.”

The official social media accounts for Star Wars issued a statement late on Monday backing Moses against the abominable online attacks.

“We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist,” the statement said.

“There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist,” the message concluded.

Other actors of colour in the franchise, including Kelly Marie Train and John Boyega, also experienced toxic and racist backlash from fans when they joined the cast.

Before Obi-Wan aired on Disney+, the Baltimore actor told The Independent that executives on the show cautioned her that racist “Star Wars” trolls could be on the horizon.

“It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of and said, ‘This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens,’” Moses said at the time.

She added: “‘Obi-Wan’ is going to bring the most diversity I think we’ve ever seen in the galaxy before. To me, it’s long overdue. If you’ve got talking droids and aliens but no people of color, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s 2022, you know. So we’re just at the beginning of that change. But I think to start that change is better than never having started it.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds actor Anson Mount also headed to social media on Tuesday to share his support for Ingram.

“This is Moses Ingram. She is a singular talent and a recent addition to the @starwars universe. She has also been targeted by racists pretending to be fans because her mere existence threatens a skewed, dystopian fantasy that selectively omits the likes of @therealbillydee and others. We, the Trek Family, have her back,” he wrote.

New episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi stream on Wednesdays on Disney+.

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