If there's one franchise that loves its retcons, it's Star Wars. Changes run rampant, from George Lucas' infamous "actually Greedo shot first" adjustment in the special edition of A New Hope to the now twice confirmed development that Boba Fett didn't, in fact, die in the Great Pit of Carkoon on Tatooine. Now, with a newly released book exploring the lore of the series, more changes have been popping up, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The in-universe biographical book Skywalker: A Family At War by Kristin Baver just released, and it's been answering a few questions fans didn't know they had. However, one query that many fans have absolutely been posing has been whether or not Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn would make an appearance in the upcoming Ewan McGregor-led Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series on Disney Plus. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but according to some new lore in the book, it may be more possible than some were expecting. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Neeson himself has expressed interest in returning.
While A Family At War focuses primarily on the Skywalker family over the generations, it does take a moment to discuss other characters. In one particular section, it describes Obi-Wan Kenobi's self-imposed exile on Tatooine following the fall of the Jedi Order. One segment is rather noteworthy. "Before he and Yoda had parted ways, the old Jedi revealed that Obi-Wan's beloved master Qui-Gon Jinn had returned from the netherworld of the Force, manifesting his conscious mind even after death. It took 10 years, but eventually Obi-Wan was able to commune with his dearest friend, resurrected within the cosmic force."
It's only a single line in a book, but this development might feel like vindication over 15 years in the making for many fans. The line about Yoda references a moment in 2005's Revenge of the Sith where Yoda reveals to Obi-Wan that he had been able to commune with Qui-Gon after the latter had perished in The Phantom Menace. At the time, some likely took this to simply mean that Obi-Wan's eventual appearances as a Force ghost in the original trilogy were something he figured out with help from his old master. But with this new angle on the whole thing, now there's the slightest possibility that it could lead to another appearance from the soft-spoken Jedi who took a chance on young Anakin Skywalker.
It's been established through several Star Wars properties that the ability to continue manifesting one's self after death is a rare trait, with Obi-Wan being among the first to successfully prove it can be done. So the rather cheesy appearance of both Anakin and Yoda next to the wise old hermit at the end of Return of the Jedi was less of a nice little sendoff for Luke and more of a testament to how powerful each of those Jedi actually were. But since Obi-Wan had to learn it from somewhere, maybe part of his series will be dedicated to explaining just how Qui-Gon passed on that knowledge to him.
Some Star Wars fans might be a little miffed at the idea that everything apparently needs to be explained in-universe. But look at it this way. The need for more explanation is why Lando Calrissian is getting his own show. That's got to be worth something. Plus, now millions of nerds might have some more fun facts to whip out at parties. Wait, that's worse. That's actually way worse.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently in production.
Source: ScreenRant