In less than a month, Kumail Nanjiani will officially join the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Eternals arrives in theaters. But this isn’t the only Disney-backed franchise that’s letting him show off his new action star physique. Earlier this year, the former Silicon Valley star also booked a mystery role in Lucasfilm’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+. And even though we’ve seen characters of all shapes and sizes pop up in the Star Wars universe over the last several decades, Nanjiani promises that his Obi-Wan gig offers something completely fresh.
We still don’t know whether Nanjiani is playing a hero or a villain in the series. But while speaking with Rolling Stone, the actor hinted at the groundbreaking nature of his role. He also discussed how he came aboard the project in the first place.
“My agents called me and it was the whole group of them that never call you,” said Nanjiani. “And I was like, ‘OK, this is either amazing news or really awful news. And they’re like, ‘They want you to play a part in Obi-Wan, and apparently, it’s substantial.’ So then I talked to [director Deborah Chow] and we had a great conversation. And the character sounded awesome — I was so excited about this character. We haven’t seen this exact thing in Star Wars yet. This is like a new version of a type of Star Wars character we’ve seen before.”
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Nanjiani went on to explain how Chow didn’t necessarily have to do much to convince him to sign on.
“[She] was trying to sell me on it,” continued Nanjiani. “And I was like, ‘I was gonna do it before the conversation!’ It was kind of perfect. Right after quarantine, I got to do a job, in town, and it was in Star Wars. It was just the most joyful first job back possible. I didn’t know how I could beat the experience I’ve had, which is a Marvel movie with Chloé Zhao, who is amazing, and maybe the greatest cast ever assembled, and then [to] have Obi-Wan as the next thing, with another really fantastic cast. Ewan McGregor! Really? I don’t know where I go from there. [Laughs.] And so I decided to walk into the middle of the woods.”
Last month, McGregor confirmed that Obi-Wan Kenobi had recently wrapped production. Lucasfilm still hasn’t announced a release date for the series. However, a 2022 premiere seems likely.
Do you have any new theories about Nanjiani’s Star Wars character? Let us know in the comment section below!
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