With Ewan McGregor returning to his Jedi robes for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series, it would be reasonable to think that perhaps his Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace co-star, Liam Neeson, who played Obi-Wan's Jesi master, Qui-Gon Jinn, could appear in the series in some form.
However, in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Neeson dashed fans hopes by saying that he will not be a part of the series.
Of course, the fact that Qui-Gon died in The Phantom Menace, was certainly one reason to think that it would be unlikely for Neeson to reprise his character in the Obi-Wan series, which takes places 10 years following the events of 2005's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
But obviously, we just saw both Luke Skywalker and Yoda play major roles in the Star Wars sequel films as Jedi ghosts, so Qui-Gon appearing as a Jedi ghost would be well in the realm of possibilities. In fact, in John Jackson Miller's (now out of continuity) Star Wars novel, Kenobi, Obi-Wan does communicate with his former master via the Force.
In fact, when Collider asked Neeson if he would be willing to do the Obi-Wan series, he replied, "I'd be up for it."
When asked by Kimmel about the show, though, Neeson replied, "I heard Ewan McGregor was gonna do a series. No, I don't think so. No, I haven't been approached." He then made the "Pay Me" gesture with his fingers and said, "They don't have enough money." When Kimmel pressed him on it again, Neeson repeated, "I haven't been approached."
Kimmel then, though, brought up the point that Neeson is "Such a good actor that you could easily be lying right now." That is certainly something that has come up over the years, even with this series in particular, where Ewan McGregor had to lie to people about the existence of the series, since it took so long to finally become an official series.
So even with a definitive no, fans will likely still keep their hopes up for a Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan reunion.
Directed by Deborah Chow, Obi-Wan Kenobi stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Joel Edgerton, Moses Ingram, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell and Benny Safdie. The series has yet to receive a premiere date.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live on YouTube