Liam Neeson thinks all the Star Wars sequels, spin-offs, & TV shows that have been released over the last 8 years are diluting the franchise.
For many years, Star Wars fans just had A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi to fuel their love of the franchise. Then came The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith; six movies over a nearly thirty-year span. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, they naturally launched a brand-new Star Wars trilogy (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker), but they also expanded the franchise with spin-off movies (Rogue One, Solo) and a handful of TV series (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka). That’s an awful lot of Star Wars in just eight years, and Liam Neeson thinks that all those projects are actively diluting the franchise.
Liam Neeson appeared on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast and was asked if he still gets approached for autographs by Star Wars fans. “Not all the time,” he said, “I mean it is a cult. There’s so many movies and spin-offs now I think it’s diluting the whole thing, that’s my personal thing. Occasionally there’s kids after a Star Wars autograph and I don’t want to give autographs at the airport. Oh, but it’s not the kid, it’s the grandfather, there he is – or the dad.“
Liam Neeson made it clear that this is just his personal opinion on the current state of the Star Wars franchise, but part of me agrees with him. Many of these Star Wars sequels and spin-offs have been fun, some of even been great, but I do miss when they used to be an event, a massive cultural experience that kept us dreaming for the years between them. I think Lucasfilm (and Marvel for that matter) are beginning to think the same way, as we’ve seen them make efforts to space out the release of future movies and TV shows in the franchise.
While Neeson may be down on the dilution of the franchise, he did briefly reprise his role of Qui-Gon Jinn in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and enjoyed the experience. What’s your take on the modern-day Star Wars franchise? Would you like to see fewer movies and TV shows?