Liam Neeson says he won’t reprise his role as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in the upcoming Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi” with Ewan McGregor — but Jimmy Kimmel isn’t sure he really believes that.
In an interview with Kimmel on Wednesday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Neeson joked that even a fat bag from Disney+ wouldn’t be enough to get him to sign on.
“I heard Ewan McGregor was gonna do a series,” Neeson said. Kimmel asked if he’d join the show at all, even for a cameo and Neeson said, “No, I don’t think so… I haven’t been approached. They don’t have enough money.”
Kimmel didn’t believe that, which makes sense, given that Qui-Gon is a major force (pun intended) in the life of Obi-Wan (McGregor) as both his mentor and de facto father figure.
“The thing is, you’re such a good actor, you could easily be lying and we would have no idea,” Kimmel pointed out.
One person who definitely is joining “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is “Pen15” star and co-creator Maya Erskine, who recently signed on to appear in three episodes.
Well, we’re bummed Qui-Gon apparently won’t be joining his padawan, but to console ourselves, we’re going to reminisce about a totally unrelated subject, all the times people lied about being in movies that they later appeared in anyway.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” began production in April. The show will pick up 10 years after the events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” where Kenobi thought he killed his best friend and apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) after Ani turned to the Dark Side. Christensen and McGregor will both appear in the series (Obviously Christensen will play Vader in full black armor), joined by Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse who once again play Owen and Beru Lars.
Other actors signed on to definitely appear in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” include Kumail Nanjiani, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, Benny Safdie and Indira Varma. The series is directed by Deborah Chow, who also directed two episodes of another show in the “Star Wars” cinematic universe, “The Mandalorian.”
Check out Neeson’s full interview above.