NEED TO KNOW
Liam Neeson has some thoughts about how Qui-Gon Jinn met his end.
Looking back at his most iconic characters in a video for GQ, the actor, 73, opened up about his time in the Star Wars universe.
Neeson played Jinn, mentor to Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. Later, the actor returned when the character made voice appearances in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
“I felt my death was a bit namby-pamby. I’m supposed to be a Master Jedi, you know? My character fell for that, ‘Oh, I’m going for your face. No, I’m not, I’m going for your stomach,’ ‘Oh, you got me!’ It’s like, ‘Oh, please.’ ”
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“Hardly a Master Jedi,” he laughed, continuing, “but still, it was great. And all the cameras, I remember, all had wires coming out of them going to guys on laptops, computers and stuff. It was very strange.”
Qui-Gon died at the end of The Phantom Menace in a duel with Sith apprentice Darth Maul (Ray Park). Before dying, Qui-Gon made Obi-Wan promise he would take on Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd as a child and, later, Hayden Christensen as an adult) as a Jedi apprentice.
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Neeson also recalled when he and McGregor first did a scene involving lightsabers and instinctively went into a playful place.
“The first time Ewan McGregor and I had to draw our lightsabers. I remember we both made the sound at the exact same time,” he explains, making the lightsabers’ whirring sound.
“George said, ‘Boys, you don’t have to do that. We can add that stuff,’ ” he laughs, recalling that they sheepishly replied, “Oh, okay, sorry.”
In an interview with Collider published in January 2021, Neeson appeared surprised to be told fans of the film franchise still clamored to see him return as his popular Jedi character.
“I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t heard that at all,” the actor said of whether he’s aware fans want him to return to the beloved role.
When asked if he would ever consider a miniseries for the character, Neeson said, “Sure, I’d like to, but I’m wondering if Star Wars [is] starting to fade away from the cinema landscape, do you think?”
