In news as surprising as the announcement of a new Batman reboot, Liam Neeson is very much done with his time in that particular collection of stories and with Star Wars. While the legendary Northern Irish actor has made an indelible mark on both franchises, he's happy to go out on high notes.
After appearing one last time as the Force ghost of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in the Disney Plus miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, some fans might have begun to get their hopes up about seeing the character more in the future. This was, after all, the first time he'd been on-screen as the character since 1999's Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, so there would be a lot of catching up to do. But that doesn't appear to be the case, and if his words are to be taken as gospel, it isn't the only world he's not keen on returning to.
During a recent interview with Men's Health, Neeson answered fan questions touching on various subjects and pulled no punches when the inevitable query about returning to Star Wars came up. "No. Star Wars, no," he replied, not mincing words. "As much as I admire them… There’s just so many of them now... So I've lost track, unfortunately, but there's too many of them." To be fair, it wouldn't be the first time Neeson stuck around for a series of movies, especially after he figured his first Taken film would just be straight-to-DVD.
Another fan asked if Neeson would be willing to appear in the upcoming sequel to Matt Reeves' The Batman starring Robert Pattinson. Naturally, his answer was quite similar this time around. "No, I’ve already done that in Batman Begins with Christian Bale," he said. "I was Ra's Al Ghul. He wasn't really a bad guy. He was trying to reorganize the world as it needs to be organized. No, I wouldn't, and I hear the latest Batman is like three hours long. Hello?" He then mimed falling asleep to drive his point home.
It looks like Neeson is more up for trying new things, like his reported leading role in the upcoming Naked Gun reboot. It's understandable for an actor as accomplished as he is. He's certainly earned the right to be a little picky regarding how he wants audiences to see him going forward. Sure, he's appeared as Qui-Gon over recent years in animated instances like Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi and The Clone Wars. But they're a far cry from classics like Schindler's List, and he knows it.
So as disappointing as it is for fans to hear this news, surely Neeson has earned enough goodwill for those same faithful viewers to wish him all the best. He's still got the chops to pull off anything from the dramatic to the less serious, the latter of which came into play during his brief but memorable cameo in the Northern Irish teen sitcom Derry Girls. Here's hoping he finds the juicy roles he craves. He certainly deserves them.
The Star Wars saga is available on Disney Plus.
Source: Men's Health/YouTube
