Liam Neeson isn’t holding back his thoughts on the current state of Star Wars. The actor, who famously played the venerable Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, is apparently not a big fan of the recent crop of spinoff projects, which have predominantly appeared on Disney+. Naturally, this is anathema to anyone who rightly worships at the adorable feet of Baby Yoda, but let’s hear the man out.
While appearing on Watch What Happens Live, Neeson shot down a question about whether he’d be interested in doing his own series similar to last year’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“No, I’m not,” Neeson said bluntly. “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.”
However, Neeson did have somewhat good things to say about (very briefly) reprising his role of Qui-Gon Jinn for Obi-Wan.
“It was nice to do the little bit with Ewan after 25 years,” Neeson said before turning to Paul Rudd who he just assumed had no idea what was happening. “You know, I did a TV version, and I appeared in the last episode. I had three lines to say, two lines. And that was cool. I loved it. That’s it.”
As for how Neeson was talked into his Obi-Wan appearance despite not being a fan of the constant spinoffs, well, that’s simple. He doesn’t want anyone else touching the part.
“I certainly didn’t want anyone else playing Qui-Gon Jinn,” Neeson told The Hollywood Reporter following the season finale back in June. “And I wanted to show my respect for George [Lucas] and that mythical world that he created. Plus, Ewan [McGregor] is a pal.”
(Via Variety)
