A somewhat long time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Liam Neeson took a lightsaber to the gut.
The Oscar nominee recently expressed dissatisfaction with his Jedi Master character Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, noting that he was “supposed to be a Master Jedi” but got duped during a lightsaber duel.
“I thought my death was a bit namby-pamby. I’m supposed to be a Master Jedi,” he told GQ. “My character fell for that. ‘Oh, I’m going for your face! No, I’m not, I’m going for your stomach.’ ‘Oh, you got me!’ Like, oh please. Hardly a Master Jedi.”
“But still, it was great,” noted Neeson of the filming experience.
More than 20 years later, he reprised the role for a reunion with Ewan McGregor in his Disney+ spin-off series Obi-Wan Kenobi. “I kinda liked that. It was just one line. It was nice to recreate that and be with Ewan after 18, 20 years. It was sweet,” he recalled.
During the prequel’s 25th anniversary last year, concept and storyboard artist Iain McCaig revealed that George Lucas had another “very poignant” ending in mind, that would have involved Neeson playing Obi-Wan from the jump, with McGregor as his Padawan, Qui-Gon
“As Obi-Wan dies and Qui-Gon defeats Darth Maul and stays with his Master as he passes away, he not only takes on his Master’s quest, but he takes on his name,” explained McCaig in November. “Qui-Gon becomes Obi-Wan.”
Although the switch-up would have ended on a more shocking reveal, it would have yielded the same outcome, with McGregor’s Obi-Wan going on to train Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen), and ultimately his son Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the original trilogy.
