Liam Neeson Says Star Wars Has Too Many Spin-Offs: Mystery and Magic Has Been “Taken Away”

[Tsing]

Star Wars critics have accused Disney and Lucasfilm of milking the franchise with an onslaught of spin-off series, and while many of them have garnered positive reviews from critics (e.g., Andor), one person that seems to agree with the overabundance of content is Qui-Gon Jinn himself. Speaking in a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, legendary actor Liam Neeson (Taken, Schindler's List) touched upon the recent state of Star Wars, telling audiences that he has no interest in playing his Jedi character again and how the franchise has been diluted from all the spin-offs. "It's taken away the mystery and the magic in a weird way," Neeson explained.

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[Niner51]

Everything has multiple spin offs nowadays. Not every one is going to be good, but I've enjoyed most of the spin off series so far.

 

[Zarathustra]

I would argue they the prequels he was in are largely what was responsible for the evaporation of that mystery and magic that was present in the first three films.

 

[Grimlakin]

I would argue they the prequels he was in are largely what was responsible for the evaporation of that mystery and magic that was present in the first three films.

One word.. just one freaking murdered the mystery of star wars... you know what it is.

 

[Zarathustra]

One word.. just one freaking murdered the mystery of star wars... you know what it is.

Midichlorians?

 

[MadMummy76]

He is right, Disney should've focused on quality rather than quantity, now it is too late, the brand is too damaged.

Even Mando is on the side of quantity rather than quailty. They should've pooled their resources and made one **** good show, rather than 4 ranging from mediocre to utter trash.

 

[MadMummy76]

I would argue they the prequels he was in are largely what was responsible for the evaporation of that mystery and magic that was present in the first three films.

The prequels did not damage Star Wars beyond repair, Force Awaken's viewership figures are proof of that.
No, the mystery and magic evaporated when they decanonized the EU and started crapping on the first three films. "forget the past, kill it if you have to" They made all legacy characters caricatures or worse.

 

[Niner51]

He is right, Disney should've focused on quality rather than quantity, now it is too late, the brand is too damaged.

Even Mando is on the side of quantity rather than quailty. They should've pooled their resources and made one **** good show, rather than 4 ranging from mediocre to utter trash.

It's not damaged as fans of Star Wars like myself will always give something a chance. Now that they put the Skywalker saga behind them hopefully they can come out with better stories like Andor. Heck even The Bad Batch is better than the latest movies because no more Skywalker's.

 

[MadMummy76]

It's not damaged as fans of Star Wars like myself will always give something a chance. Now that they put the Skywalker saga behind them hopefully they can come out with better stories like Andor. Heck even The Bad Batch is better than the latest movies because no more Skywalker's.

Then you are the reason they keep making crap, because you keep watching it.

Sometimes people act really weird. You say you don't want to watch the last of us which is a really good show, because you are jaded of zombies. But at the same time keep coming back for more trash out of disney. WHY? Because it has Star Wars slapped on it? Why would you do that to yourself?

I am a fan of the Star Wars universe, but I barely managed to get through the last season of the Mandalorian, it is a cheaply made, boring show, with only a hint of the magic. And the rest they make is worse than that.

Most of the magic of star wars was created and kept alive with the extended universe, that they erased with a sleight of hand.

That you need to bring up a literal kids friendly cartoon as evidence of Star Wars still being good, is evidence to the contrary to me.

 

[Brian_B]

the brand is too damaged.

Hmm, I don't know that any brand gets too damaged that a good title can't come back and still be enjoyed.

Although Cancel Culture is sure as hell trying with Hogwarts.

 

[Grimlakin]

I've enjoyed the madalorian.. its basically a spaghetti western in tje star wars universe. Crossed over with a Ronin Samurai story. Love it.

Bona fett... never bothered to watch.

Andor is borderline great heist story in the star wars universe and it is great.

When the focus of the work is telling a fun story in that universe where the story is first and the setting is flavor to connect the viewer it's great. When it's all setting as the story is where it falls apart.

But that's true for any work in my mind. Star wars is simply a accepted sci fi setting with space magic. Like they want to do with Dune.

 

[MadMummy76]

Hmm, I don't know that any brand gets too damaged that a good title can't come back and still be enjoyed.

For example Star Trek. Picard season 3 actually seems to be good, it is made by a brand new showrunner who has nothing to do with the previous things made in the franchise recently. But a lot of fans dismiss it right out of hand, because they had seen Discovery, they seen the way picard started out as, and now they are done taking chances.

And honestly I can't blame them, if you got burned so many times you are not going to come back to the same ex again no matter what they say.

Although Cancel Culture is sure as hell trying with Hogwarts.

That's very different, lunatics trying to boycott something they had no interest in the first place. This is the actual fans getting disillusioned.
Like myself. I watched TFA, and it was meh, then I watched Rogue1, and it was good, but then I watched TLJ, and it was so bad that it meant the end of the line for theatrical star wars for me. I still to this day not watched Solo or Return of Palpatine.

I've enjoyed the madalorian.. its basically a spaghetti western in tje star wars universe. Crossed over with a Ronin Samurai story. Love it.

I can't say I loved it, it is a 6/10 show, barely good enough to not consider it a waste of my time. I'm on the fence if I'm even going to watch S3 without Cara Dune.

Bona fett... never bothered to watch.

Andor is borderline great heist story in the star wars universe and it is great.

When the focus of the work is telling a fun story in that universe where the story is first and the setting is flavor to connect the viewer it's great. When it's all setting as the story is where it falls apart.

But that's true for any work in my mind. Star wars is simply a accepted sci fi setting with space magic. Like they want to do with Dune.

Boba Fett, and Obi one, were terrible, while Andor seems to be better, but people can't be bothered to watch it, so clearly not good enough for word of mouth. Star Wars is supposed to be brilliant and exciting, something you look forward to watching. I dread watching it instead, so I stopped.

 

[Grimlakin]

Boba Fett, and Obi one, were terrible, while Andor seems to be better, but people can't be bothered to watch it, so clearly not good enough for word of mouth. Star Wars is supposed to be brilliant and exciting, something you look forward to watching. I dread watching it instead, so I stopped.

Sounds to me that you had a strong emotional investment in the previous story from when you were much younger. It was something you embraced wholly. And these newer stories fell short for you. They didn't have the same magic for adult you as the previous movies did younger you.

I didn't have issue with the movies because I was able to open mind to them and accept them. I even appreciated the little nods here and there to an expanding story. Like the kid who could use the force in Rouge one.

For me a movie... any movie... is about escape. Not saying it isn't the same for you but I do tabletop gaming like dungeons and dragons. I am excited to embrace a story.

 

[Niner51]

Then you are the reason they keep making crap, because you keep watching it.

I watch what I want as do you, so I don't think there is a "problem" either way. I try to enjoy most things in life especially as I get older so I agree with @Grimlakin as I accept the new movies and shows for what they are. I enjoyed the "old" Star Wars movies, as I enjoy a lot of things from the past. It's a different world now, and there are different tastes, and really different outlooks on things compared to how things used to be back then. No reason to spend my time hating things I cannot change.

 

[MadMummy76]

Sounds to me that you had a strong emotional investment in the previous story from when you were much younger. It was something you embraced wholly. And these newer stories fell short for you. They didn't have the same magic for adult you as the previous movies did younger you.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. My love of the universe comes primarily from EU stuff, I didn't even see New Hope until the prequels came out, and I've seen Return of the Jedi and Empire strikes back out of order. They were just movies to me. When viewing them objectively I don't think the original trilogy is much better than the prequels. The newer ones except for Rogue One fell short because they are objectively bad.

I didn't have issue with the movies because I was able to open mind to them and accept them. I even appreciated the little nods here and there to an expanding story. Like the kid who could use the force in Rouge one.

This is such a meaningless talking point, "just accept it for what it is" By this definition every movie is perfect you just have to "accept it for what it is." I accept it for what it actually is: badly written crap. I did not want to hate TLJ, it's not as if I had a choice. I mean the creator even admitted he wanted to break canon and wanted to double cross everything set up by TFA. IDK how can you choose to love crap. I can't even say it's your funeral, because if you keep consuming crap, we will get more crap.

For me a movie... any movie... is about escape. Not saying it isn't the same for you but I do tabletop gaming like dungeons and dragons. I am excited to embrace a story.

I can't escape if my brain is bombarded with nonsensical drivel, or worse I see the politically charged campaign even before I see the show. "If you don't like this, you are racist/sexist" that doesn't exactly make me excited for a series. In fact it makes me give it a wide berth. TLJ gave me a headache from the start. I don't want to turn off my brain while watching a movie, I want it to be engaging and make me think. There are many good shows that do exactly that. There is really no need to keep watching garbage. For the sake of all of us, please, DON'T DO IT!

No reason to spend my time hating things I cannot change.

And I have no reason to pretend to like things that are bad. And you are wrong, you could change things, if only you stopped consuming when the quality started deteriorating. But it's still not late. All you have to do is get out of the hamster wheel of cyclical consumption.

 

[SmokeRngs]

Sounds to me that you had a strong emotional investment in the previous story from when you were much younger. It was something you embraced wholly. And these newer stories fell short for you. They didn't have the same magic for adult you as the previous movies did younger you.

I didn't have issue with the movies because I was able to open mind to them and accept them. I even appreciated the little nods here and there to an expanding story. Like the kid who could use the force in Rouge one.

For me a movie... any movie... is about escape. Not saying it isn't the same for you but I do tabletop gaming like dungeons and dragons. I am excited to embrace a story.

Of course many people had a strong emotional attachment to the original trilogy and it has little or nothing to do with age. They were fun movies and enjoyable to watch. The stories weren't revolutionary new and the dialog definitely had issues but none of it detracts from the fun and imagination those movies brought. It was space opera with space wizards with energy swords with princesses and rogues fighting super evil bad guys in a grand adventure. None of them were perfect, all had faults, they made mistakes but the good guys worked together taking great risks to win the day. It was plain and simply fun. Empire didn't have to defecate all over A New Hope to make itself seem good nor did Return have to defecate or ignore Empire to be good.

The prequels were at their best mediocre. Phantom Menace was trash outside of Qui-gon and the occasional scene. You could remove that movie from existence and it wouldn't really change anything in the Star Wars story. Attack of the Clones is a little better but the characters are still terrible with the only redeeming feature being some of the combat scenes. The story was thin and boring and had no feel of being epic. Revenge of the Sith is the best entry but it's still badly deficient on decent story. Again this is mostly saved by space combat as well as lightsaber combat scenes. I can't make myself re-watch Phantom Menace, I have no desire to re-watch Clones and it's extremely rare I decide to watch Revenge. I don't have any issue going back to the original trilogy.

The sequel trilogy is simply trash. There are no redeeming features of any of it. Force Awakens was not good but at least there was some promise that later movies would make the story make sense. Last Jedi did everything possible to ignore and destroy anything good in Star Wars. The Return of Palpatine was an attempt to make two movies into one because of how trashy Last Jedi was. It's the best of that group but still not good at all. Re-hashing Palpatine was a terrible idea, the story itself wasn't very good and it wasn't entertaining. They also went way overboard with how terrible things were. I won't re-watch Force, I literally cannot re-watch Last Jedi despite trying a few times and I have no desire to re-watch Palpatine.

Despite it's faults the original trilogy was fun and exciting and opened up a new universe. The prequels were basically dead on arrival due to Lucas' hubris. The sequel trilogy was trash because it wanted to destroy all that had come before.

Then you have the one off movies. There's a reason they stopped making them. Solo was mostly boring. Rogue One gets praise but it's only because it's nowhere near as bad as the other movies. Rogue One is not a good movie. The story is badly contrived and it seems as soon as most of the characters become interesting they manage to do something to become annoying and childish again. When I saw it in the theater I considered the movie decent at best. I've re-watched it a couple of times and found each time the movie aged worse.

After the one off movies and the sequel trilogy I've had no desire to bother with anything else Star Wars. There's no real chance they're going to bring something out that's fun and interesting. After a bit of time passes basically the same thing is said about all the shows that seem halfway decent: they only seem good because everything else is so bad. If it wasn't for the Star Wars name attached most of these series never would have been made.

I agree wtih Liam Neeson. There are way too many Star Wars movies and shows being thrown out. He used the perfect descriptor when he said it has been diluted. I don't know that the mystery has been taken away but I don't think there's much interest in delving into the mystery because of the way the franchise has been treated. The magic has definitely disappeared. Star Wars isn't fun anymore and because of that there is no magic in it.

 

[Denpepe]

There are way too many Star Wars movies and shows being thrown out.

I disagree, the problem is not the quantity, it's the quality, they can do whatever type show or movie they want in the SW universe, as long as it has a decent story, production values and cast.

 

[Niner51]

And I have no reason to pretend to like things that are bad. And you are wrong, you could change things, if only you stopped consuming when the quality started deteriorating. But it's still not late. All you have to do is get out of the hamster wheel of cyclical consumption.

I don't want to change things. I just get to pick what I want to watch as do you so we'll agree to disagree. I didn't say I watched every single thing that they pump out.
I'm starting to think you yell at kids from your porch about them walking on your grass...j/k..

 

[Grimlakin]

It's interesting. It's clear that there are people that get pretty enjoent out ofntearing something down for others than ther are that look for bright points in something. I get it your online is to be negative about things.

 

[SmokeRngs]

I disagree, the problem is not the quantity, it's the quality, they can do whatever type show or movie they want in the SW universe, as long as it has a decent story, production values and cast.

Except the only thing they're putting out is quantity. The very things you state as needed for quality are missing. And those things are missing from the movies and shows. And from the new books I assume as well since I never hear anything good about those. The old Extended Universe stuff they abandoned in full had plenty of bad books but at least some of it was good and interesting. The point where most of the books went downhill at that time was when they were putting them out in large quantities. Up until the Vong storyline I read all the books and owned a large number of them. I started out reading the Vong storyline but it became too long, too boring and too off the wall in attempts to keep people reading. Books following that storyline also went the route of making things as crazy as possible to differentiate themselves from previous stories. It was to the point where nothing in the galaxy was recognizable anymore.

The movies and shows are on the exact same path as the end of the EU books. Making things unrecognizable anymore. That's one of the best ways to alienate a fanbase.