Ewan McGregor played the beloved Jedi mentor in the franchise's three prequel films beginning in 1999

Our only hope has been fulfilled!

Ewan McGregor is returning to the Star Wars universe with an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off series on Disney+, the actor revealed at Disney’s D23 Expo on Friday, after he made a surprise appearance on stage with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.

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“Before leaving, we do have one more announcement,” said Kennedy from the D23 stage, near the end of a long day full of exciting news (like a Marvel-themed land and a Lizzie McGuire reboot). “After secrets, and fibs, and not being able to talk about it, I am thrilled to bring out a beloved member of the Star Wars family.”

McGregor then joined Kennedy onstage to wild applause from the audience.

“Kathleen, can you ask me in front of all of these people, all of these witnesses, can you please ask me, am I going to play Obi-Wan Kenobi again?”

Kennedy obliged, “Ewan, are you going to play Obi-Wan Kenobi again?”

Ewan then looked out at the audience and said definitively into the mic, “Yes.”

Image zoom Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

Cue even more shouts and cheers from the fans in the room.

While details like a title or release date have yet to be revealed, Kennedy did say that “the scripts are written, and we begin shooting next year. We can’t wait to start production. And we have our Obi-Wan.”

McGregor famously starred as the beloved Obi-Wan Kenobi in the three Star Wars prequels: The Phantom Menace, Revenge of the Sith and Attack of the Clones.

Image zoom Lucasfilm

Fans of Star Wars know that Kenobi is a central figure in the franchise who guides both Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi. In the original trilogy, Kenobi was played by Alec Guinness, and then by McGregor in the prequel series that starred Jake Lloyd and then Hayden Christiansen as Anakin.

Fans have long awaited an Kenobi-focused Star Wars story, and it was reported earlier this month that McGregor was in talks for the Disney+ series.