One of the most common interview questions asked of Liam Neeson is if he would ever return to his role as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn. Fans are used to his response of "no." This trend continued when Neeson joined the likes of Paul Rudd on the February 16 episode of Watch What Happens Live! However, in the episode, Neeson elaborated on why he feels the way that he does. He said that the Star Wars franchise is hurting the magic that it holds. When asked if he was returning, Neeson said, “No, I’m not. 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.”
Liam Neeson did make a brief appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the series on Disney+. However, he only had roughly two lines of dialogue. He made his debut in the Star Wars universe in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 1999. However, his character died, and his time in Star Wars ended. While Neeson would not return for a spin-off, he told ComicBook.com last year that he would reprise the character under one condition: his returning appearance would need to be in a movie, not a television show.
Neeson On “Watch What Happens Live!”
Back then, he said about a Star Wars return: “Oh, I think so, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so…if it was a film. 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.”
Neeson's statement about Star Wars spin-off quantity is accurate. As far as movies go, Lucasfilm has released Rogue One and Solo outside of its main Skywalker storyline. Furthermore, Star Wars has continued to expand its universe on Disney+ with television shows. The network has premiered The Mandalorian, The Book of Bobo Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the past. In continuation, upcoming series releases include season 3 of The Mandalorian, which launches on March 1, 2023. Plus, Ashoka and The Acolyte are premiering on the network
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