In an interview with Yahoo! regarding his upcoming film Taken 3, Liam Neeson mentioned that he would welcome a return to Star Wars, including some sort of spin-off involving the now deceased Jedi Qui-Gonn Jinn.
Even though his character was as much of a general failure as the rest of the film, Neeson himself was generally passable in his role as the mentor to child Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menance. Given his role in recent films, a Qui-Gon Jinn spin-off would likely entail a minor Jedi being taken and Jinn cutting his way through several planets on his way to save the missing knight. Luckily (or unluckily if that’s your thing) a Qui-Gon spin-off is highly unlikely to happen at this point, as Disney seems content with moving the story forward and not going back to the time when Darth Vader was a whiny teenager.
Naturally, Neeson is one of the millions of us who have seen the Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens trailer. Like many confused and interested Star Wars fans he has his doubts about the new “claymore lightsaber,” and he wonders if it’s even practical or if you’d end up stabbing yourself in the side with the blade. Given the fantastical things that Jedi frequently do with their lightsabers on a daily basis, having one of them accidentally stab themselves wasn’t the first concern that came to my mind, but it’s easy to see where he’s coming from. He knows a thing or two about lightsabers to the abdomen after all.
In general, Neeson seems to be one of the few actors that doesn’t regret his role on the maligned prequels. Jake Lloyd (who played the childhood Anakin Skywalker) eventually up and quit acting altogether after being so heavily harassed at school by children and their angry child-like parents claiming that he ruined Star Wars for them. Now, more than a decade later, he still does the occasional Star Wars convention to sign autographs for raving Anakin Skywalker fans.
As well, Natalie Portman recently told New York Magazine that no one wanted to work with her and everyone thought she was a “horrible actress” after her role as Queen Amidala in the prequel trilogy. She has since recovered, to say the least, playing in several high-quality roles including Black Swan.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
