Star Wars Gets a Much-Needed Reality Check from Liam Neeson

Despite being killed at the end of The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn featured in later films – and has also made a few cameos in prequels and in Clone Wars.

With the exception of one (which was voiced by his son) Neeson has acted or voice acted each of those appearances.

But now he says he's burnt out on the Star Wars franchise.

"As much as I admire [Star Wars]… There's just so many of them now. So I've lost track, unfortunately," Neeson admitted.

It's easy to see how. There are, after all, lots of different facets to the franchise. But whether that is indeed confusing would most likely depend on where any particular viewer is on their Star Wars journey.

The most avid fans of Star Wars who have watched every movie countless times and know where each series fits in the overall timeline may argue that there is far from too much of it.

In fact, there have been calls for the timeline to be expanded to show more of the history of the Empire.

Conversely, new viewers may feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Star Wars there is to watch and not really know where to start consuming it all.

Of course, the easiest way to start watching and understanding everything that has gone on over many, many years of the franchise is to watch everything in the order it was released.

That way, you understand all references and should be able to keep up. Or will you?

Fans who have watched the series over decades have had time to digest each movie and understand the universe in which the franchise is set – with years between films and lots of build-up to new shows that have been discussed and dissected across fan forums and mainstream media.

Is it even possible to binge-watch everything the franchise has put out and actually take everything in? If not, what would be the recommended way to avoid those series which don't really add anything to the overall understanding of the universe and core story?

There doesn't really seem to be any guidance. So, maybe Neeson has a point. But it might not be that there is too much going on in the franchise.

Perhaps the real issue is that people at Disney need to get their heads together and offer up a little more information that will help guide their newer followers.

As for those who have been along every step of the journey – they're old hands at this and don't need anyone telling them how best to enjoy the franchise. In fact, I'm not sure they'd take too kindly to being given instructions!