Looks like the already beefy cast of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi will remain lacking in the dead mentor department. Liam Neeson, star of the Taken movies and all around Irish powerhouse has flat out denied that he will reprise his role as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in the upcoming series.
In a recent interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Neeson faced the inevitable question of whether or not he would join the several other actors returning to their previous Star Wars roles in Ewan McGregor's limited series. Many fans had assumed he would play Qui-Gon once again, at least in a short cameo, due to the character's significance to Obi-Wan's life and story. However, likely to the dismay of many Star Wars prequel fans, Neeson denied the rumor in no uncertain terms, which seems to just be the way the action star does things.
"I heard Ewan McGregor was going to do a series,” Neeson replied when Kimmel posed the question. “No, I don't think so. No, I haven't been approached. They don't have enough money." He seemed to mean that last part as a joke, particularly since it's difficult to imagine the idea of Disney not having enough money for something. It would be like a shark being hungry but not that hungry. But the rest of his comment seems to indicate that there were simply never any plans to include his character in the first place.
Neeson played Qui-Gon on-screen for the first and last time in 1999's The Phantom Menace, occasionally returning for voice cameos in projects like The Clone Wars animated series and, most recently, in the most recent film The Rise of Skywalker. As Obi-Wan's mentor and Jedi Master, Qui-Gon played an important role in the overall arc of McGregor's character, with the elder Jedi's death at the hands of Darth Maul hitting him particularly hard during the climax of The Phantom Menace.
It makes sense that Disney wouldn't want to bring him back for a number of reasons. First off, it's been over 20 years since Neeson was last seen physically embodying the character of Qui-Gon. Normally, a character would just age naturally during that time. But since Qui-Gon died, his Force ghost form would likely have to look the same way he did at the end of his life. Granted, Neeson ages better than most people and even a few wines. But it would still be difficult to pull off. Naturally, the second reason is that maybe he just didn't want to come back.
But it's also worth considering that maybe Neeson is actually lying for the sake of a contract, and actually did sign on to the project. Kimmel himself added "you're such a good actor you could easily be lying and we would have no idea." Plus, he's expressed casual interest in the idea of returning as Qui-Gon in the past. So maybe take his words with a grain of salt, but as of Neeson's own words, it looks like he won't be returning to a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi is currently in development.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live|YouTube