Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: liam neeson, Obi Wan Kenobi, qui gon jinn, star wars, star wars: the phantom menace, Tales of the Jedi

Star Wars Has "Qui-Gon" Too Far with Spinoffs for Liam Neeson's Liking

Despite his appearances on Tales of the Jedi and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Liam Neeson thinks the various Star Wars spinoffs take away from franchise.

Published Sat, 18 Feb 2023 09:15:11 -0600

by Tom Chang

Comments

There's no doubt that Liam Neeson has reaped the benefit from the Star Wars franchise playing Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn 24 years ago in 1999's The Phantom Menace. While he could have been content sitting on the sidelines, money talks and the actor reprised the role for multiple appearances in the Disney era, starting with his voiceover work in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker in a cameo for the live-action final chapter of the Skywalker saga, the 2022 Disney+ animated series Tales of the Jedi and cameo in the live-action Obi-Wan Kenobi that saw him reunite with his TPM co-star Ewan McGregor who played the title character. What looks like a case of buyer's remorse, Neeson appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen about his reluctance to cash in on more Qui-Gon appearances.

"No, I'm not [interested in returning]," Neeson told Cohen. "There's so many spinoffs of 'Star Wars.' It's diluting it to me, and it's taken away the mystery and the magic in a weird way." The Marlowe star told Comicbook.com in 2022 that he consider returning if it were for a movie, not a show. With no Star Wars films officially scheduled with film dates, the franchise's future is firmly on Disney+ TV with the animated The Bad Batch currently streaming, animated shows Visions and Young Jedi Adventures set to premiere in May, and live-action series The Mandalorian set for March 1st, Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew, both set for later 2023 releases.

Neeson could always take a break from his usual action fare of revenge and assassin films to come back to Star Wars, but I wouldn't hold my breath any time soon for a feature since Disney's been reluctant for the franchise to return to the big screen following the Skywalker Saga, 2016's Rogue One, and the underperforming Solo in 2018. He can also wait to see what pans out from The Naked Gun reboot by Seth MacFarlane. We still don't know what Rian Johnson, Taika Waititi, Damon Lindelof, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Shawn Levy have planned for their respective projects. Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron is also in limbo.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!