The Young Qui-Gon In Tales Of The Jedi Is Voiced By Liam Neeson's Son
"Andor" is still airing on Disney+ and giving "Star Wars" fans their weekly fix of stories set in the galaxy far, far away. However, that hasn't stopped Disney from releasing more "Star Wars" stories to complement the big-budget latest live-action series.
"Tales of the Jedi" is a collection of six animated shorts that chronicle the origins of some of the galaxy's most powerful Force-sensitive warriors, voiced by some veteran actors and newcomers alike. The episodes thrust our heroes into a host of scenarios that add more meat to their respective backstories and delve deeper into the "Star Wars" lore. Here, you'll learn more about their upbringings and experience some of the adventures that shaped them.
The animated series follows the early years of young Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Count Dooku (Corey Burton), and other familiar characters. Qui-Gon Jinn also makes an appearance, with Liam Neeson reprising the role of the Jedi in his adult years. When casting Jinn's younger iteration, however, the "Tales of the Jedi" creators decided to turn to Neeson's real-life son.
Micheál Richardson voices a young Qui-Gon Jinn in Tales of the Jedi
"Tales of the Jedi" Episode 2, titled "Justice," introduces a young Qui-Gon Jinn as he and Dooku rescue a kidnapped teenager from the clutches of backwater villagers who are fed up with the political establishment. However, this version of the character doesn't have Liam Neeson's vocal cadence.
That's because the actor voicing Jinn is none other than Micheál Richardson, Neeson's 27-year-old son and frequent collaborator. The series marks Richardson's "Star Wars" debut after growing up feeling confused and disturbed by his father's exploits in the faraway galaxy. "I was kind of traumatizing at the age of five seeing my dad sliced in half by a lightsaber or blown up in an explosion, and also kissing somebody else," Richardson told "The Graham Norton Show" in 2021.
This isn't the first time that Neeson and his offspring have been part of the same project. The pair played father-son duos in "Made In Italy" and "Cold Pursuit," but "Tales of the Jedi" is the only time they've portrayed the same character on-screen as of this writing.