Having been in the market for over four decades, star Wars has become one of the most popular franchises in Hollywood, featuring some of the industry’s biggest stars. The list of names that have appeared in the franchise over the past decades includes Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Samuel L. Jackson and many more.
However, there is also a list of actors who have decided to take part in the $10 billion sci-fi franchise, and it includes some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
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Hollywood Actors Who Refused star Wars Roles
Kurt Russell
Primetime Emmy nominee Kurt Russell was among the leading men of Hollywood in the 1970s. He also signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company in the late 1960s and became the studio’s top star by the 1970s. So when the studio began developing the sci-fi franchise star Warshe became the top choice for several roles, including Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.
However, he decided to accept an offer to appear in another series after director George Lucas was unable to give him a concrete answer regarding his role in the series. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. “Okay, I’ll go make this western and that’ll be one less guy to think about.” he recalled Lucas saying this during an interview with The Daily Beast. He then starred in the television series Quest.
Jim Henson
Since it was introduced in the 1980 film. The Empire Strikes BackYoda was one of the franchise’s most prominent and popular characters. I’m currently working on the second part of the original. star Wars For the trilogy, director George Lucas wanted puppeteer and animator Jim Henson to bring the character to life on screen.
At the time, Henson was widely known for his work with Muppet characters such as Kermit the Frog. However, he was reportedly busy with other projects at the time and asked the director to approach Frank Oz. “I think they asked Jim first, but with running the company and everything, he couldn’t do it, so he recommended me.” Frank Oz shared during an interview with IGN. Since then, Oz has voiced the character in several on-screen appearances.
Jodie Foster
Before Carrie Fisher was offered the role of Princess Leia in 1977 star Wars Jodie Foster was offered the role in this film. At the time, the actress was actively involved in Disney projects, and when she was about 14 years old, she was offered one of the main roles in the franchise.
However, she turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts with Martin Scorsese’s 1976 psychological thriller. Taxi driver. And the actress does not regret losing the role, in her words: “I don’t think I’ll be lying on my deathbed and thinking, ‘Damn! I didn’t do Star Wars. during an interview with The Empire (per Vogue).
Al Pacino
Al Pacino gained fame in Hollywood thanks to his work in the film by Francis Ford Coppola. Godfather. After filming the series, he was offered the role of Millennium Falcon captain Han Solo in the first film. star Wars movie. However, he turned down the offer, saying that he did not understand the script.
Speaking about some of the films he rejected, the actor told The Guardian: “Do you know who else I gave my career to? Harrison Ford. They offered me Star Wars, but I didn’t understand the script.” Harrison Ford eventually landed the role of Han Solo in the 1977 film, which brought him worldwide recognition.
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Burt Reynolds
George Lucas had a long list of actors to play Han Solo in the 1977 film. star Wars. In addition to Kurt Russell and Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds was also among the contenders for the role of captain of the Millennium Falcon.
Explaining why he refused to appear in the film, in an interview with Business Insider, he said that he did not “I want to play a role like that at that time.” However, unlike Pacino, Reynolds regrets missing out on the opportunity. “Now I regret it. I’d like to do that.” He said. He also called it one of the biggest mistakes of his career.
Tupac Shakur
After Samuel L. Jackson expressed his desire to join the sci-fi franchise, he was offered a role in The Phantom Menace
. The actor has reportedly been offered the role of Lando Calrissian’s father. But he was later cast as Mace Windu and reprized his role in subsequent films in the prequel trilogy.However, Rick Clifford, an engineer who worked for Tupac Shakur’s label, later revealed that the rapper was also in contention for the role of Mace Windu in the 1999 film. He said the late rapper told him he had to read for George Lucas, who wanted him to portray a Jedi in his new film. “I’m serious. Samuel L. got the part of Tupac.” he said (regarding Time). The role of the Jedi Master went to Samuel L. Jackson after the rapper died in 1996.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio offered the role of Anakin Skywalker in the film star Wars prequel trilogy following his role as Jack Dawson in the Oscar-winning film, Titanic. However, DiCaprio did not consider himself to fit into the sci-fi franchise and turned down the offer after George Lucas approached him.
“Yes, I also had a meeting with George Lucas about this,” he said during an interview with Shortlist before adding “Again, I just didn’t feel ready for this dive. In this case..” He also talked about turning down offers to appear in several superhero films at the time.
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Gary Oldman
Last movie in star Wars The prequel trilogy follows Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as he must defeat General Grievous. Gary Oldman was offered the role of General Grievous in the 2005 film. However, there was a problem with the film that prevented him from accepting the offer.
Star Wars. Episode III – Revenge of the Sith was a film not made by the Screen Actors Guild. As a member of the actors’ union, Oldman denied violating Screen Actors Guild rules known as “Global Rule One.” The Oscar winner’s manager shared with Variety that they encouraged the director to reach out to SAG for help. “special permission” this would allow him to star in the film. But no such actions were taken by the filmmakers.
Benicio Del Toro
Benicio Del Toro was part of star Wars universe when he portrayed the character of DJ, an underworld codebreaker, in the second part star Wars continuation of the trilogy. However, before that, he was offered a more prominent role in the 1999 film. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as part of the prequel trilogy.
He was ready to portray the villainous character Darth Maul and even donned a suit and the character’s signature black and red makeup. But he decided to leave the role after the film’s director cut most of his lines. He was later played by martial arts actor Ray Park, who embodied the character, and Peter Seraph gave Darth Maul his voice.
Rooney Mara
While working on the 2016 film franchise, director Gareth Edwards came across the work of Rooney Mara, who gained recognition for her work in the detective thriller. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She soon found herself among the contenders for the lead role in the 2016 film. Rogue One.
However, she decided to decline the offer after the director approached her as she was busy with another project at the time. “I was working and it wasn’t the right thing for me, so I decided not to read for the sake of it. I was in a movie.” she stated during an interview with Deadline, sharing that it would be impossible for her to work on two projects.
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