Why Star Wars' Freddie Prinze Jr. Refuses To Return: 'Our Goal Was To Make You Cry'
Thanks to Disney+ series like "The Mandalorian" and "Ahsoka," several "Star Wars" characters who originated in animation have jumped into the realm of live-action. It's likely got fans thinking who else could make the leap into a new medium, and there are probably plenty of folks who would love to see Kanan Jarrus, who was voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr. in "Star Wars Rebels," factor into new Star Wars stories, but the actor sounds done with the role.
Sadly, Kanan died in "Star Wars Rebels" Season 4, sacrificing his life to save his friends. He's mentioned in "Ahsoka," but with Star Wars, there's always a way for someone to come back, either as a Force Ghost or perhaps as part of a story set prior to the events of "Rebels." But if Kanan returns, Prinze Jr. wouldn't want to play him, as he explained to ComicBook.com, "Kanan's story — at least for me — is done, I thought it ended beautifully. People cried, I was very happy for that. I don't mean that like a jerk: our goal was to make you cry."
Kanan may be gone, but his legacy isn't forgotten. He's referenced in "Ahsoka," and viewers even got to meet a live-action version of his son, Jacen Syndulla (Evan Whitten). And with one of the most tragic deaths in all of Star Wars, bringing him back or undoing his death in any way, in the same vein as Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), may feel cheap.
Freddie Prinze Jr. didn't even want to have a voiceover cameo in The Rise of Skywalker
Anyone hoping for more Freddie Prinze Jr. in Star Wars may be disappointed at his comments, but they can at least take solace the actor had one more go at Kanan in him. In "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker," Rey (Daisy Ridley) hears the voices of many other Jedi during her final confrontation with the Palpatine clone (Ian McDiarmid). One of those voices if Kanan Jarrus, as voiced by Prinze Jr., but he even had reservations about coming back for that.
The actor continued telling ComicBook.com, "I didn't even want to do the little voice over in the last Star Wars movie ['The Rise of Skywalker']. I thought it felt forced." It may not have been his cup of tea, but it at least made sense within the context of the story, as many fallen Jedi speak with Rey in that moment. And it was a neat, little Easter egg for any "Star Wars Rebels" fans.
But Prinze Jr. thinks the franchise should leave Kanan be, "To me, every time I'm asked to do Kanan it waters down what was a beautiful ending ... It's this amazing powerful moment." Kanan's sacrifice was a turning point in "Rebels," as his friends take a while to process his death. And perhaps most tragically of all, it's revealed in the "Rebels" series finale he's going to be a father, so he'll never get a chance to know his son, at least not in the physical realm. It's a powerful Star Wars moment, and Prinze Jr. likely has the right idea of leaving well enough alone.