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Liam Neeson is Done with Star Wars (But Then Again, Didn't He Say So Before Kenobi?)

Liam Neeson is Done with Star Wars (But Then Again, Didn't He Say So Before Kenobi?)
Image credit: Legion-Media

Liam Neeson's performance as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn is widely considered to be one of the best parts of Star Wars Episode I.

Though Qui-Gon died at the end of that movie, killed in the battle with Darth Maul, Star Wars is one of those universes, where death does not always prevent a character from reappearing in future works. And after all, even barring the possibility of post-mortem ghostly activities, Qui-Gon had quite a rich story in the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, with potential material for many adventures.

So, Liam Neeson recently reprised the role of Qui-Gon, this time as a Force ghost, both in The Clone Wars CG cartoon and in the finale of the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+. He also provided voicework for adult Qui-Gon in the Tales of the Jedi mini-series, (the younger version of Qui-Gon who appeared in another episode was voiced by Liam's son, Micheál Richardson).

All of those, of course, were only small, episodic appearances. But Liam Neeson getting invited for them might have been an indication of something bigger. Now, however, Liam Neeson says that he's done with Star Wars.

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Recently, when he made a video interview for Men's Health, one fan asked him, whether Qui-Gon might come back in a spinoff or prequel. Neeson responded with a firm negative, and added that he was no longer able to follow Star Wars media nowadays.

"No. Star Wars, no," Neeson responded. "As much as I admire them… There's just so many of them now. So I've lost track, unfortunately."

Then again, in the past, Neeson has suggested that he might return to play Qui-Gon, but only if he got a "real" movie role, yet as you can see, he ended up agreeing to brief, near-cameo appearances.

Besides his own unwillingness, he might just not get a chance to reprise his role in foreseeable future, unless Obi-Wan Kenobi is turned from a limited series into a full multi-season series. No new Star Wars movies are going to appear on the screens until 2025 at the earliest, and characters of other TV series and cartoons currently on Disney+ have no connection with Qui-Gon.