When it comes to the Star Wars prequels, fans don’t really have the best opinion of them. However, most fans tend to agree that Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the best elements of the Phantom Menace. I mean, he was pretty much the only thing that was relatively good in that movie. Well, him and Darth Maul, but then again, Darth Maul wasn’t in it much. Plus, there was the introduction of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he didn’t do much either. But the fact that they got Liam Neeson on board just makes Qui-Gon an even cooler character. Star Wars made Liam Neeson an action star before he even became known for being an action star.
Speaking of Obi-Wan, his series is going to begin filming in March. I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited to seeing Ewan McGregor reprise the role of Obi-Wan once again. It’s been a long time since Revenge of the Sith and now is the perfect time for McGregor to play a more older and loner-type of Obi-Wan. Even if you were one of those people who didn’t like the prequels, this show can really expand on his character. Just like the Clone Wars, the Obi-Wan show will justify the existence of the prequels and reignite some of that faith in Star Wars fans again.
So with the Obi-Wan series coming, many fans have some questions. For instance, will certain characters like Anakin or Qui-Gon appear in the show? Fair questions, considering both of those characters had a strong connection to Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon was his master and Anakin was his apprentice. However, since Qui-Gon died in the Phantom Menace and Anakin became Darth Vader, it makes it rather hard for either characters to appear in his series. But you know what? This is Star Wars.
Remember when Darth Maul was cut in half by Obi-Wan? Yeah, turns out that didn’t kill him. Do you also remember when Boba Fett fell into that Sarlacc Pit? That didn’t kill him either. In the realm of Star Wars, characters can “die” and still come back. Well, in the case of Qui-Gon Jinn, he is very much dead. Darth Maul did kill him and the Jedi burned his corpse. However, that wasn’t the end of him, which was heavily implied in the end of Revenge of the Sith.
So let’s dive deeper into the Obi-Wan show and explain the best way Qui-Gon can appear. One way he can appear in full Qui-Gon form is through flashbacks. Personally, I think it would be very interesting to see a young Obi-Wan in his early Padawan days. Now when it comes to flashbacks, I don’t there to be an over reliance on them. That would get old very fast. What I have in mind is simply showing us the early days of the student/teacher relationship between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Showing us how that relationship got started would reveal why Obi-Wan held Qui-Gon in such high esteem. Let’s face it, we really did get any of that in the Phantom Menace.
When I think about the idea of showing a younger Liam Neeson in those flashbacks, I think about de-aging. For those of you who saw the last episode of The Mandalorian, just look at what they did for Mark Hamill. The man is sixty-nine-years-old as of now and the de-aging made him look forty years younger. For real, it was like watching Return of the Jedi for the first time again! If that can do that for Mark Hamill, why not do it for Liam Neeson? If he does come back to reprise the role and if they do want to go the flashback route, I imagine it would be more of a cameo. That’s okay if they do that, because they can use the de-aging to make Liam Neeson look younger for a brief amount of time, very similar to Mark Hamill in The Mandalorian.
So I think the flashback route is a good way to show Qui-Gon in the Obi-Wan show. However, I do think there is a better way to actually keep him on for a longer period of time and only Star Wars nuts would understand. Let’s go back to what Yoda told Obi-Wan at the end of Revenge of the Sith. Since Obi-Wan was going to spend a very long time on Tatooine watching over Luke, he was also going to have a lot of time to himself. How was he going to spend most of it? Well, Yoda had an answer.
For those Star Wars fans who read the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, you’ll remember what Yoda was doing before Obi-Wan arrived with the dying Padme. During his meditation, a familiar voice called out to him. That voice belonged to his old friend, Qui-Gon Jinn. Even after death, Qui-Gon used his connection to the force to live on as a force ghost, very similar to Obi-Wan and Yoda after their deaths. If you didn’t read the novel, it doesn’t matter. Force ghost Qui-Gon was already showed in the Clone Wars cartoon. That was a good way to introduce him that way, because Obi-Wan didn’t fully believe it was him. Now that Yoda himself has confirmed that he is still living through the force and he can communicate with him, there is a big chance Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon will be reunited.
I’m guessing the Obi-Wan series will take place pretty much entirely on Tatooine. If Obi-Wan isn’t fighting anyone or watching Luke, he’ll be using his time to reach out to Qui-Gon. Now if he does succeed in talking to his force ghost, I think he should do much more than training. The first thing he should ask him is why he was so adamant about Anakin being the chosen one. This could set up for some conflict between them and even shatter Obi-Wan’s faith in Qui-Gon’s wisdom. However, I’m guessing Qui-Gon would stick to his guns and spend time trying to convince Obi-Wan that Anakin could still be the chosen one. I mean, Anakin is still the guy who killed the Emperor and brought balance to the force, right? Yeah, let’s not go there.
So in my opinion, Qui-Gon can either come back through flashbacks or by being a force ghost. You know what? Why not both? Qui-Gon was a fine character, but he never really got the chance to be fully developed. Bringing him back for the Obi-Wan series can give him that chance. Plus, who’s going to argue against more Liam Neeson? Not me.
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