Over the past few months, EA's first-person shooter video game
Star Wars Battlefront II has been introducing new content inspired by the Clone Wars. Of course, the Clone Wars have been told many different forms, including the wildly successful animated television series which has been a source of inspiration for some of the game's new content.
Last month,
Battlefront II added General Grievous and next week, his longtime nemesis Obi-Wan Kenobi will join the battle with the Battle of Geonosis update. As EA revealed, both of these characters will be voiced by the actors who brought them to life in
The Clone Wars animated series. Both Matthew Wood (Grievous) and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan) sat down with EA to discuss their return to the recording booth with the latter offering his take on the iconic Jedi hero.
As James explained, his performance in the animated series is a mix between Ewan McGregor (prequel trilogy) and Alec Guinness (original trilogy). But specifically for his
Battlefront II version of Obi-Wan, the actor admits he slipped more into Ewan McGregor's performance at times.
"Then, when it’s a Clone Wars line, I go a little more into my Obi-Wan. So, you might hear a little mixture of both. But I definitely cannot deny that the power of Ewan McGregor’s performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi is influencing mine," James said.
“It really is like riding a bike with this character now," James said about returning to voice Obi-Wan Kenobi in
Battlefront II after such a long hiatus.
"After almost 18 years of playing him, you just fall into those places. Of course, the writing is so great, because it feels like Star Wars, so it's really pretty easy to just go in there.”
It makes sense that James would lean more towards McGregor's prequel trilogy performance because the version in Battlefront II is largely based on the Clone Wars version of the character. The in-game character was even modeled after McGregor's portrayal in
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
You can read more about Obi-Wan Kenobi's arrival in
Star Wars Battlefront II next week, as well as his in-game abilities,
over on EA's blog. The full interview with James Arnold Taylor and Matthew Wood
can also be found there.
The Clone Wars have begun. Jedi hero Obi-Wan Kenobi and the new map Geonosis arrive in the latest update – free for all Star Wars™ Battlefront™ II players and available from November 28. Unlock the 212th Attack Battalion clone trooper appearances, more General Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi appearances, drive the new STAP and BARC speeder, and dominate the battle with the AT-TE walker.
Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives in
Star Wars Battlefront II with the Battle of Geonosis update on November 28. General Grievous is already in the game.