Liam Neeson Says Volume Of ‘Star Wars’ Spinoffs Is “Diluting” The “Mystery” And “Magic” Of The Franchise
Star Wars actor Liam Neeson has spoken out against the explosive growth of the Lucasfilm franchise, expressing the belief that it’s been damaged by the constant churning out of spin-offs.
Neeson’s comments came during a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, which you can view above. Prompting them was a question as to whether he’s interested in leading a spin-off centered on his Jedi Master character, Qui-Gon Jinn. “No, I’m not,” said Neeson, matter-of-factly. “There’s so many spin-offs of Star Wars. It’s diluting it to me, and it’s taken away the mystery and the magic in a weird way.”
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Neeson admitted that “it was nice” to reunite with Ewan McGregor last year for an appearance on his spin-off Obi-Wan Kenobi that had him saying all of two lines. “That was cool. I loved it,” said the actor. But as far as his interest in Star Wars appearances at this point, “that’s it.”
Neeson first appeared as Qui-Gon Jinn in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, most recently reprising his role for an episode of Disney+’s animated Tales of the Jedi. His comments speak to the constant output of Star Wars projects across film and television in the years since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, and Disney+’s first venture into live-action Star Wars series with The Mandalorian. And they’re particularly resonant, following the emergence of “franchise fatigue” in the lexicon, as Disney CEO Bob Iger finds himself among the many rethinking both studio structure and content strategy.
While Star Wars content continues to be put out at a steady clip — primarily for the small screen, of late — Iger actually echoed Neeson’s Star Wars comments in a New York Times profile all the way back in 2019, opining, “I just think that we might’ve put a little bit too much in the marketplace too fast.”
Disney+ unveiled the second season of its animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch in January. Other projects upcoming from the galaxy far, far away include The Mandalorian Season 3, Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, and the series Ahsoka, to name a few.
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