Liam Neeson, a Star Wars alum, gets asked frequently if he is going to reprise his role as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in a spinoff show, to which he responds with a hard ‘no.’ In an episode of “Watch What Happens Live!” with guest star Paul Rudd, Neeson explained his reasoning further. Neeson believes all the spinoffs Star Wars is making are damaging its magic.
“No, I’m not,” Neeson said when asked if he’s interested in returning. “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.”
Neeson had a very brief cameo in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi which he only had two lines of dialogue. Making his debut in the franchise in 1999 when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace premiered. However, Neeson’s character Qui-Gon didn’t make it to the ending, and the actor’s Star Wars time was cut short.
Last year, Neeson told ComicBook.com he would only consider being Qui-Gon again if it was in a movie and not a TV show.
“Oh, I think so, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so…if it was a film,” Neeson said about a potential “Star Wars” return. “Yeah, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to TV, I must admit. I just like the big screen, you know? Qui-Gon, I can’t believe it’s 24 years since we made ‘The Phantom Menace,’ I just cannot believe where the time has gone. It was a terrific experience, shooting that film in London.”
Since the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, came out, there have been several spinoff movies and tv shows such as Rouge One, Solo, The Mandalorian – which is releasing season 3 in March, The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Joining the shows will also be Ashoka and The Acolyte.