Liam Neeson recently made an appearance on the “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” podcast (recorded before the SAG-AFTRA strike), where he once again shared his perspective on the “Star Wars” franchise, particularly its proliferation of sequels and spinoffs. The actor, renowned for his portrayal of Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” (1999), was asked about the frequency of “Star Wars” fans approaching him for autographs.
Neeson responded, “Not all the time. I mean, it is a cult. There are so many movies and spin-offs now; I think it’s diluting the whole thing. That’s my personal take. Occasionally, there are kids seeking a ‘Star Wars’ autograph, and I don’t really want to be giving autographs at the airport. But it’s not the child; it’s often the grandfather or the father. They become 11-year-olds again.”
This isn’t the first time Neeson has expressed his sentiments about the saturation of the “Star Wars” universe. In a February episode of “Watch What Happens Live!” he noted that the numerous spinoffs and sequels had, in a peculiar way, “taken away the mystery and the magic” of the franchise. While Neeson did make a brief appearance in the Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he had only a limited amount of dialogue.
During his interview on “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend,” Neeson also reminisced about the early days of filming, specifically a scene involving lightsabers. He and co-star Ewan McGregor found themselves instinctively making lightsaber noises during their first lightsaber action sequence.
Neeson shared, “The first time we actually had to use the lightsaber to start a little fight… We both automatically [made the noises].” To this, George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars,” intervened, saying, “Let’s cut there. Boys, we can add that in later.”
Neeson also recalled an amusing conversation with his makeup artist, who humorously remarked that his appearance wouldn’t matter much due to the extensive use of CGI and visual effects in “The Phantom Menace,” many of which were groundbreaking at the time.
“I was supposed to be doing this scene with [Watto], a little flying monster,” Neeson recounted. “I didn’t know what this thing was going to look like. It was a green tennis ball that was eventually going to be this flying monster. I’m in the makeup chair, and the lady says, ‘I did see a mock-up of the monster, and you could be a monkey smoking a pipe, and no one is going to be looking at you.'”
