Liam Neeson Accuses Lucasfilm Of Diluting Star Wars With Too Much Content
John F. Trent
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Actor Liam Neeson recently accused The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm of diluting the Star Wars brand by creating too much content.
(L-R): Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), his eopie and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) in a scene from Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
Neeson’s comments came in an interview with Conan O’Brien after he was asked if Star Wars fans were coming up to him all the time.
He said, “Not all the time. I mean it is a cult. There’s so many movies and spin-offs among other things. You’re diluting the whole thing, I think. That’s my personal thing.”
Returning to the question, he said, “But, yeah, occasionally, you know, kids after a Star Wars autograph and I don’t want to give autographs. We’re at an airport. Oh look, it’s not the kid. It’s the grandfather. There he is. Or the dad. Horn-rimmed glasses and a beard. And they become 11 year-olds.”
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucasfilm
Neeson’s comments about there being too much Star Wars content and the brand being diluted is something he previously shared back in February during a bit with Men’s Health where he responded to a number of questions and comments from Twitter users.
Responding to one user who questioned if he would pop up in a Star Wars prequel, Neeson responded, “No. Star Wars. No. As much as I admire them, there’s just so many of them them now. They’re like…They’re like…So I’ve lost track, unfortunately.”
“But there’s too many of them,” he repeated.
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Ironically, Neeson’s comments echo the narrative that The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm were previously running with as their Sequel Trilogy began to significantly decline at the box office and Solo: A Star Wars Story actually lost millions.
Back in 2018, The Hollywood Reporter shared with Disney CEO Bob Iger, “Many believe Disney should pump the breaks and not put out a Star Wars movie each year.”
Iger responded, “I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX.”
“We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about. And we are just at the point where we’re going to start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re going to be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that,” he added.
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucasfilm
These comments were echoed by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
She said, “We’re going to take a hiatus for a couple of years. And we’re taking the time to really look at where this is going from the standpoint of a saga.”
Kennedy added, “We’re not just looking at what the next three movies might be, or talking about this in terms of a trilogy. We’re looking at: What is the next decade of storytelling?
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucasfilm
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The idea that the brand is too diluted because they are putting out too much content is patently absurd.
The issue is clearly one of quality and Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company are just not putting out quality programming when it comes to Star Wars.
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn and Pernilla August as Shmi Skywalker in The Phantom Menace (1999), Lucasfilm
What do you make of Neeson’s comments?
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