Is Liam Neeson returning for ‘Obi Wan Kenobi’? The actor reveals all
Liam Neeson is in the news this week, and it’s not because he’s starring in a new action thriller (although dropped two in 2021 so far). Ireland’s number one gun-toting sixty-nine year-old comes to headlines today for a different reason, and one we’re sure he laments (except for the paycheck) – his being a part of the Star Wars universe.
As the Star Wars world continues to expand with the mounting array of series being added to Disney+, audiences are wondering if Liam Neeson will reprise his role in the franchise. The actor broke his silence on the rumors this week, and fans will finally know if Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn will return to the Star Wars universe in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series coming to Disney+.
Epis-old one
Millennials & Star Wars nerds alike know Liam Neeson was the actor playing Qui-Gon Jinn in 1999’s The Phantom Menace, bringing a young & different Jedi to a new generation of Star Wars fans when the film dropped.
Once the cutting edge in Star Wars movies post-Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace is now a dinosaur after the recent upsurge in the Star Wars franchise over the past decade, which Disney+ continued to build upon and is currently milking for every buck it’s worth. Now, fans want to know if the actor who brought audiences Qui-Gon Jinn in 1999 will reprise his role in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Shut ‘em down
The Hollywood Reporter dropped a headline saying Liam Neeson shut down rumors this week, and Star Wars heads were eager to see what the actor had to say about the possibility of reprising his role.
Unfortunately for Jar Jar heads, the Phantom Menace actor told audiences he would not come back as Qui-Gon Jinn any time soon, with no mention of his appearing in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
On Wednesday, Neeson appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote The Ice Road, a new action thriller (we told you so) released by Netflix, but the subject soon turned to his classic role in the Star Wars universe.
Jin & Jimmy
The actor is quoted saying he heard his former Phantom Menace co-star Ewan McGregor was going to do a Star Wars series, but that he had no plans in doing one any time soon. He told Kimmel he hadn’t been approached to do a series, and the host accepted his answer, although implied Neeson could be fibbing to his audience as well.
As Neeson seemed to understand on Kimmel, Ewan McGregor will return as the title character on the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi, so Star Wars fans might be rightfully wondering why Qui-Gon Jin, the original mentor of Obi-Wan Kenobi, would not return alongside McGregor. Could Neeson’s absence be a cause of his distaste for his experience doing a Star Wars movie?
Wonderful lightsabers
Reports say Neeson won’t be absent from Obi-Wan Kenobi for the reason he had a bad time acting in The Phantom Menace.
In fact, Neeson seemed to have a great time as a Jedi. Just last year Neeson told Andy Coen in an interview he was happy with the way Episode I turned out. He told the interviewer he was proud to be a part of the film, likes it, and is proud of how the blockbuster came out. Neeson is quoted saying, “I got to be a Jedi. I got to play with those wonderful lightsabers and stuff. It was terrific, Andy, it really was”.
Neeson says he won’t return for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, but considering the actor’s fervor for the Star Wars acting experience, we hope he’s winking, and we get some surprise Qui-Gon action in the upcoming series.
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Could any other actor pull off our beloved Qui-Gon Jinn? Tell us who in the comments below!
