Fantasize about being part of the cast of characters that make up Star Warsis the most normal thing after the success achieved by the franchise created by Jorge Lucas in 1977. The saga of a galaxy far, far away introduced us to heroes and villains who have become essential figures in popular culture.
There aren’t many villains as imposing as Darth Vader, whose mere voice is overwhelming to unthinkable levels. Han Solo’s charisma, the hero’s path he undertakes Luke Skywalker without knowing her true past or Princess Leia’s solemnity are just a few examples.
Imagine that these characters are James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill or Carrie Fisher seems unthinkable to fans of Star Warsand the same happens with many other references in the franchise.
But back to the beginning: Star Wars He had many candidates for some of his most beloved characterssome were rejected by the stars and others were no longer options due to the casting process itself. Today we will learn about some of the most famous cases.
Han Solo: the character with the most candidates
Flying the Millennium Falcon is not something anyone can do. Harrison Ford became Han Solo and, for many, it’s still strange to see Alden Ehrenreich on paper Han Solo: A Star Wars Story.
But let’s go back to the times of the selection process Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hopebecause the role of the most brazen smuggler in the galaxy is, perhaps, the one that has accumulated the most candidates.
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Almost a hundred actors were considered for the role, as one of them revealed, Christopher Walker. George Lucas tested stars like Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds or Kurt Russell.
Others who participated did not catch the director’s attention, such as Sylvester Stallone. But we can’t say we’re complaining, not just because Harrison Ford’s big role is memorable, but because, by not fitting into the role, Sly was able to dive Rocky. We all win.
Many different faces to the original trilogy
Han Solo is not the only character who could have a different interpretation. It would be difficult, for example, to hear Darth Vader in the original version without the voice of James Earl Jonesbut the Sith Lord almost had the voice of the legendary Orson Welles. Jones said that Lucas found Welles’ voice very recognizable, but the director stated that he chose him by a landslide.
Carrie Fisher immortalized forever Princess Leiaa heroine who didn’t need rescuing, well, not entirely. The paper could have fallen Jodie Fosterthat already appeared in the 70s, but Taxi driver knocked on his door. Once again, we all win. Another candidate was Cindy Williams.
It’s no secret that Star Wars It has a lot of influence from samurai cinema. Akira Kurosawa (Kurosawa Akira). So it won’t come as a surprise to you that Obi-Wan Kenobi came close to being incarnated by Toshiro Mifune (Mifune Toshirō) before falling into the hands of Alex Guinness. His daughter said she turned down the role out of fear that Star Wars did not faithfully represent the samurai.
Just like Darth Vader, C-3PO I was close to having two actors: Anthony Daniels interpret it physically, and Honey Blanc to voice the protocol droid. According to Daniels, Blanc convinced Lucas that he already had all the talent he needed inside the flashy gold suit.
Frank Oz is another one of those memorable voices without which Star Wars It would be what it is, but before playing Yoda, the option of one of the people who participated in the creation of the doll was considered, Jim Hensontook on the role. Henson himself rejected the idea.
The prequels and sequels also had their alternative options
Fast forward to the late 90s, when George Lucas embarked on the adventure of telling us how the Empire came to be, the Jedi Order fell and Anakin Skywalker He went to the dark side.
Already in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menaceanother option was considered to incorporate Darth Maul before giving the role to the martial arts master Ray Park. Benicio del Toro He was going to play the Sith, but when he remembered the dialogue, he rejected the role.
Ahmed Best He earned hatred from fans, even too much from some, for taking on the role of Jar Jar Binks. A role that almost fell to Michael Jackson, the king of pop. But the singer wanted to embody Gungan through prosthetics, something that George Lucas did not consider in his revolutionary vision supported by CGI.
No one doubts that Samuel L. Jackson He embodied one of the most iconic Jedi masters in the entire mythology of Star Warsbut the paper Mace Windu It wasn’t for him originally. Tupac Shakur He was going to play, but his tragic death in 1996 stopped him.
Hayden Christensen He experienced the worst and the best while playing Anakin Skywalker from attack of the clonesbut actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Phillippe or Paul Walker to embody the young man in his fall towards the dark reverse.
Lucasfilm
Another voice role that couldn’t be is that of General Severe in Revenge of the Sith. Jorge Lucas wanted Gary Oldman give voice to the villain. What I didn’t want was for the film to be under the protection of Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and refused even to ask for special permission, so Oldman, in solidarity with his colleagues, turned down the role.
While Lucas was no longer making decisions in the sequel trilogy, there were also some possible changes if things had gone differently.
Daisy Ridley became Kingbut competed with Saoirse Ronan and Billie Lourddaughter of Carrie Fisher, who would end up with a supporting role as Lieutenant Connix.
Kylo Ren there were also some candidates besides Adam Driveras Eddie Redmayne or Michael Fassbenderbut the conflicted and troubled son of Han and Leia ended up incarnated by Driven.
Star Wars It could have been very different with other stars in their main roles and it would have changed the careers of some actors, for better or for worse, not all of which were fairy tales.
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