Liam Neeson is done playing Qui-Gon Jinn because he is tired of there being so many Star Wars spinoffs diluting the “magic,” as he explained during a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live! (via Variety). It’s harsh criticism coming from one of the franchise’s oldest individuals. He kicked off the major events of the Skywalker Saga when he joined the series as Obi-Wan Kenobi’s mentor in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Though he perishes in the film, Neeson returned to briefly play the character again in the season 1 finale of the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
When he was asked if he would be interested to return as Qui-Gon Jinn in his own spinoff, Liam Neeson explained, “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’s feelings echo the sentiments of many fans who have grown tired of the various movie and TV show spinoffs in the Star Wars universe. So far, Disney’s streaming service has brought on spinoff shows like The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Tales of the Jedi, Star Wars: Visions, and The Book of Boba Fett. That doesn’t include spinoff movies like Rogue One and Solo either, with even more content both on and off streaming platforms always in the works. It’s become exhausting for many fans – Neeson included.
“It was nice to do the little bit with Ewan (McGregor) after 24 years, you know,” Neeson added. “We did a TV version, and I appeared in the last episode. I had two lines to say, and that was cool. I loved it.”
Of course, many are happy to continue consuming Star Wars content. For them, The Mandalorian will return with season 3 on March 1. You can see Qui-Gon Jinn express his dissatisfaction with Star Wars in the clip below.
