Liam Neeson has criticised his Star Wars death scene, revealing he wanted more from his final showdown.
The Naked Gun actor played Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in George Lucas’s prequel Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – but his character perished in a lightsaber duel with Darth Maul.
Neeson, 73, has reflected on his last moments in the film, telling GQ: “I thought my death was a bit namby-pamby.”
“I’m supposed to be a Master Jedi. My character fell for that?‘Oh, I’m going for your face. No, I’m not – I’m going for your stomach.’ ‘Oh, you got me!’ Like, oh please. Hardly a Master Jedi.”
However, Neeson noted that his experience of filming the blockbuster, which was the first Star Wars film since 1983’s Return of the Jedi, “was great”
In 2022, the actor briefly reprised the role in a spin-off series dedicated to Ewan McGregor’s character Obi-Wan Kenobi, appearing as a Force Ghost.
“I kinda liked that,” Neeson said of the opportunity. “It was just one line. It was nice to recreate that and be with Ewan after 18, 20 years. It was sweet.”
Neeson, who currently stars alongside Pamela Anderson in a Naked Gun reboot, previously said he was “proud” of The Phantom Menace and “liked” the divisive film.
“I got to be a Jedi, got to play with those wonderful lightsabers and stuff, it was terrific,” he said.
Neeson also defended his co-star Ahmed Best, who was criticised by Star Wars fans following his performance as Jar Jar Binks.
“It really hurt his career,” Neeson told SiriusXM in 2020. “And I have to say when I was making that film… he was probably one of the funniest guys and talented guys I had ever worked with.”
Best returned to the Star Wars universe for an episode of spin-off series The Mandalorian, playing Jedi Master Kelleran Beq.
Neeson has recently made headlines with his offscreen relationship with Naked Gun co-star Anderson, whom he said he ‘fell madly in love with” while filming the comedy.
They are yet to confirm being romantically linked, despite rumours swirling about their relationship.
In The Independent’s four-star review of the new Naked Gun, Clarisse Loughrey hailed the film as “a masterclass in buffoonery”.
