Liam Neeson Criticizes Star Wars And He’s Absolutely Right
Liam Neeson is a legendary Hollywood actor who has appeared in everything from high-intensity action films like Taken, moving artistic cinema like Schindler’s List, and even massive blockbuster franchises such as Star Wars.
Given that the actor’s Hollywood bonafides are solidly cemented in place, he seems to be comfortable freely speaking his mind when levying criticisms against popular filmmakers and active projects. According to Variety, Neeson has taken to Conan O’Brien’s podcast to critique Star Wars, claiming that the franchise has watered down its brand by producing far too many projects in recent years.
Liam Neeson explained to Conan O’Brien how he feels the Star Wars brand is being hurt by multiple spin-offs.
Liam Neeson’s appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend is not the first time he’s slammed Star Wars on a public platform. Despite recently reprising his role as Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Marlowe actor seemed to have no qualms accusing Disney of mismanaging Star Wars by creating so many spinoffs, sequels, prequels, and side projects.
Fans seem to largely agree with Neeson’s assessment that Star Wars has lost its mystique, ruining the magic by providing the public with too much of a good thing.
Beyond simply critiquing the latest installments in the long and storied franchise, Liam Neeson thought back to his work on the Star Wars prequel film, 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. The film was the first to revisit the franchise since the original trilogy closed its final chapter with 1983’s Return of the Jedi, and largely considered one of the weakest films in the entire Star Wars extended universe.
Disney seems to be taking critiques such as Liam Neeson’s to heart, as the company has already agreed to tighten the leash on the Star Wars franchise in recent years.
When recalling his memories from the film, Liam Neeson expressed doubts that the film would translate to the big screen while filming due to the excessive use of CGI. One such interaction came as Neeson was forced to work alongside a tennis ball on a stick, which would stand in for Watto, a money-hungry Toydarian junk dealer brought to life entirely by computer graphics.
Elsewhere in his Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend appearance, Neeson joked that the Star Wars fandom was like a cult, turning adults into starstruck children at a rate he’s never seen before or since.
Disney seems to be taking critiques such as Liam Neeson’s to heart, as the company has already agreed to tighten the leash on the Star Wars franchise in recent years. Before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes shut all active productions down earlier this year, Disney had already announced plans to scale back productions within the Star Wars universe in order to provide a quality-over-quantity approach for the future.
When recalling his memories from the film, Liam Neeson expressed doubts that the film would translate to the big screen while filming due to the excessive use of CGI.
Liam Neeson is not the only person in Hollywood who realizes the franchise is at its best when there is an element of mystery behind the galaxy far, far away.
As for now, Liam Neeson seems to be getting his wish, as the strikes have made it impossible for Disney to continue shooting new scenes for any of their active Star Wars productions. Given that there’s no way of knowing what previously announced projects will survive the strikes and make it to air, for now, we’ll have to wait and see.
