Liam Neeson Discusses His Star Wars Return In 'Obi-Wan Kenobi'

Actor Liam Neeson finally returned to a galaxy far, far away.

On Wednesday, Disney released the final episode of the six-episode limited series "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Starring Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprising their roles from the prequels, many fans wondered if Liam Neeson would be reprising his role as Qui-Gon Jinn from 1999's "The Phantom Menace."

In the final minutes of the show, Obi-Wan heads into the desert after finally officially meeting Luke Skywalker for the first time. Although fans don't actually see the encounter play out, Kenobi seems satisfied as he heads into the sands of Tatooine. A Force ghost appears in front of him and turns around revealing Qui-Gon, who Obi-Wan had been speaking to throughout the show.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Qui-Gon had a number of reasons he wanted to return to the franchise.

“I certainly didn’t want anyone else playing Qui-Gon Jinn, and I wanted to show my respect for George [Lucas] and that mythical world that he created,” Neeson explained. “Plus, Ewan [McGregor] is a pal, and I loved working with him during The Phantom Menace 25 years ago.”

In Episode I, Qui-Gon was Obi-Wan’s master. The two land on Tatooine, where they eventually run into a young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). Shortly after they secure Anakin’s freedom, Qui-Gon was killed during a lightsaber duel with Darth Maul (Ray Park).

Although reception to the prequel trilogy has been mixed, Neeson said he was always a fan of the movies.

Back in 2020, Neeson told Andy Cohen on SiriusXM channel Radio Andy in 2020 that he always liked "The Phantom Menace," adding, “I am proud of it and proud to have been a part of it. I got to be a Jedi. I got to play with those wonderful lightsabers and stuff. It was terrific, Andy, it really was.”

At the end of "Revenge of the Sith," which closed out the prequel trilogy, Yoda told Obi-Wan that he would teach him how to connect with Qui-Gon's Force Ghost.

It might have taken a while, but fans were happy to see it finally come to pass.

Back in April, Neeson recently sat down with Comicbook.com to reveal whether or not he’d ever return to the franchise and he said he would with one catch.

When asked if he would want to return to a galaxy far, far away, Nesson replied, “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?” he added. “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.”

It seems that they still managed to convince him to come back for a brief cameo appearance in a Disney+ series, especially because it was only less than a minute. It's possible that Neeson might want to return to play Qui-Gon Jinn for a Disney+ series of his own, but it seems unlikely.

In a previous interview with Entertainment Tonight, Neeson hinted that he was done with big-budget fantasy series, and that includes superhero films. “I’m really not a huge fan of the genre,” he said. “I think it's Hollywood with all the bells and whistles and the technical achievements and stuff -- which I admire -- but I have no desire to go into the gym for three hours every day to pump myself up to squeeze into a Velcro suit with a cape.”

“I admire the actors and I know some of the actors who do it -- and do it fantastically,” he continued. “It's just not my genre, it really isn't. The first Star Wars, I was in that, that was 22 years ago, and I enjoyed that because it was novel and that was new. I was acting to tennis balls, which were ultimately going to be little fuzzy furry creatures and stuff. That was interesting, acting-wise, to try and make that seem real, but that was the last. It's quite exhausting.”