Ewan McGregor kept Star Wars spin-off secret for four years

Ewan McGregor has revealed that he has known about the Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off series for "years".

The 'Trainspotting' star will reprise his role as the wise Jedi master in the untitled project, and he revealed that it is a "massive relief" to not have to keep the program a secret any longer.

He told Men's Journal: "It's a f***ing massive relief. Because for four years I've been having to lie to people about it."

The series - which will consist of six hour-long episodes - will air on Disney+ with production beginning in summer 2020.

It was finally confirmed by Lucasfilm at the Disney D23 Expo in August, after rumors being denied for a long time.

The highly anticipated show will be directed by Deborah Chow, who has worked on some episodes of another 'Star Wars' spin-off series, 'The Mandalorian'.

McGregor, 48, who played the Jedi in the prequel trilogy, also confirmed more detail about how the series fits into the 'Star Wars' universe.

It will see Obi-Wan deal with the fallout from his friend Anakin Skywalker turning to the Dark Side of The Force and becoming Darth Vader and the mass extermination of the Jedi at his hands on behalf of the Emperor.

He explained: "The storyline sits between 'Episode III' and 'Episode IV'. The Jedi Order was falling apart. It will be interesting to take a character we know in a way and show him - Well, his arc will be quite interesting, I think, dealing with that the fact that all the Jedi were slaughtered with the end of 'Episode III'. It's quite something to get over."

Ewan also revealed that he wanted his portrayal of 'Obi-Wan' to be similar to that of Sir Alec Guinness, who played the character in the original trilogy.

He said: "I want to get closer and closer to how Obi-Wan felt while Alec Guinness was playing him.

"I feel like I'm grayer and nearer him in age, so it'll be easier to do that."