Though Liam Neeson only got to star as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in one Star Wars film, the character became immensely popular; his personality perfectly captured the nobility of the Jedi Order, but was just rogue enough to serve as an underdog. He was also the only person to recognize that little Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One, an accurate presumption that eventually led to the downfall of the Dark Side.
But Qui-Gon died at the end of The Phantom Menace, leaving his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to train the young Skywalker. And we all know how things went from there, right?
Hints of Qui-Gon’s past were made throughout the prequels, including the fact that he was trained by Count Dooku, but there’s so much more to be explored and for years now, fans have been calling for a spinoff revolving around the character. It’d probably be most effective if it focused on the Jedi training process, and if you throw in a couple missions and lightsaber battles, you have the formula for a film that’d surely be better than any of the three prequels.
But the question remains: would Liam Neeson even be up for a return? That’s what Yahoo Movies posed to the actor recently and surprisingly, he seemed open to the idea – though he did mention that no one from Lucasfilm has been in touch.
“This is the first time I’m hearing of this. No one’s been in touch with me, but I know in the Star Wars world anything is possible.”
Continuing on, he noted that even though Jinn died in The Phantom Menace, that doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t return.
“In the first one, The Phantom Menace, I died but we know, you know, Jedis come back and stuff but no one’s been in touch. We’ll see.”
At this point, it seems like the most probable place we could see Neeson reprise his role is in the upcoming Obi-Wan spinoff. Though there is some demand for him to get his own movie, we don’t see that happening anytime soon. Instead, Lucasfilm could easily include him in the Kenobi pic and from there, gauge interest and potentially give him a spinoff of his own down the road.
After all, there’ve been a few hints already that Qui-Gon could be involved in Obi-Wan’s next big screen adventure and with Neeson seemingly open to reprising his Star Wars role, there’s really no reason for this not to happen, right?
