Liam Neeson says he hasn’t been approached to be in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series

In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Liam Neeson said that he hasn’t been approached for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series that is currently filming and said he won’t be in it.

“I heard Ewan McGregor was going to do a series,” Neeson said when asked if he would be in it. “No, I don’t think so. No. I haven’t been approached. They don’t have enough [money].” At that last remark, Neeson didn’t actually finish the statement but rubbed his fingers together to symbolize money.

He’s probably just joking around about that money part, as obviously Disney and Lucasfilm could make it happen if they wanted. It was probably just Neeson’s way of being a bit lighthearted about it. Especially since they were able to get him to voice Qui-Gon Jinn for three episodes of The Clone Wars, they’d be able to get him for a highly-anticipated and long-awaited live-action series that is already bringing back Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. So this is pretty obviously just a bit of humor.

But the notable part, obviously, is that he says he’s not going to be in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. It’s long seemed obvious that this show would be a fit, since during Obi-Wan’s time on Tatooine he learned to commune with his old master through the Force, and especially since the timeline matches suspiciously closely. But if Neeson is to be believed here, the show is going to explore other directions.

Of course, though I’m certain this is just me believing what I want to actually be true, it’s still possible that Neeson could show up. It’s still pretty early in the filming process, so Neeson could be added later. Or it’s also possible that Neeson is actually going to be in the show but just can’t say anything yet – much like Ewan McGregor had to do for quite a while.

Regardless, this is certainly a reminder that we should temper our expectations as to what will happen in the show. I have no doubt that it’ll be fantastic, but at the same time that doesn’t mean that everything fans hope or imagine will be included will actually make it into the series. And that doesn’t mean it’s bad storytelling – it just means that they are telling a different story than fans might have! This is an important lesson that Star Wars fans still have much to learn about.

So yes, I’m still holding out hope that Liam Neeson will make an appearance as Qui-Gon Jinn in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he says he hasn’t been approached about doing the show.