Liam Neeson Returned as Qui-Gon in ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ to Pay Homage to George Lucas
In the months leading up to the premiere of this year’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series, fans wondered if any other characters from the prequel trilogy or The Clone Wars could make an appearance in the show. The one receiving the most attention was Kenobi’s original master, Qui-Gon Jinn (played by Liam Neeson), given the ending of Revenge of the Sith which established that Obi-Wan would learn to speak with his deceased mentor through the Force.
After several mentions of his name plus an entire season’s worth of build-up, Qui-Gon Jinn finally appeared as a “Force ghost” in the series’ final scene. The deceased master and his former apprentice shared a few poignant words before continuing on their journey as the series concluded.
Now, actor Liam Neeson, who originally played the role in 1999’s The Phantom Menace as well as a few episodes of The Clone Wars, has spoken with Chile Detail Zero about his decision to return for Obi-Wan Kenobi. While promoting his new movie Marlowe at a film festival in Spain, he said:
“I was in the last episode. I’m a bit of a TV snob, but I didn’t want anyone else to play that character… Ewan is a friend. We were in Los Angeles on green screen, and Ewan, as Obi-Wan, was on a real camel, and I only had three lines of dialogue, and when we rehearsed, people started crying, it was wonderful.”
Neeson also mentioned that he wanted to reprise his old part as a way of paying homage to George Lucas, who he still respects greatly. Finally, the actor revealed a behind-the-scenes tidbit that many fans will likely find amusing. His co-star and friend Ewan McGregor liked to refer to Master Qui-Gon as “gin and tonic”.
It’s nice that Neeson still looks back fondly on his time in the Star Wars saga. His appearance, however brief, was a highlight of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series for many fans, especially those who grew up with the prequels. We’ve no way of knowing whether Neeson’s cameo in Obi-Wan Kenobi will end up being his last turn as the character, but at the very least, the venerable master and his apprentice got to share one last scene together.
Source: Chile Detail Zero
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he's not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he's often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.
