NSYNC, Michael Jackson and other stars who almost appeared in Star Wars movies
By Dean Mott
Michael Jackson
The King of Pop would have been a curious addition in Episode I: The Phantom Menace — especially if he got his choice to play Jar Jar Binks, the oft-ridiculed Gungan character. Ahmed Best, who ended up playing Jar Jar, recounted Jackson’s interest in the role to Vice.
"“Me, Natalie Portman, and George’s kids—we were at Wembley arena at Michael Jackson’s concert. We were taken backstage and we met Michael. There was Michael and Lisa Marie [Presley]. George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar’ and I was like, That’s kind of weird. Michael was like, ‘Oh. OK.’ I thought, What is going on? After Michael had driven off, we all go back up to a big after party. I’m having a drink with George and I said, ‘Why did you introduce me as Jar Jar?’ He said, ‘Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like “Thriller.”‘ “George wanted to do it in CGI. My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think he wanted that.”"
Having Michael Jackson would have been an interesting departure for Star Wars films. The original trilogy featured actors who hadn’t made it big yet – other than Harrison Ford in American Graffiti, but even that didn’t make him a household.
The prequels featured some well known actors especially Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor. However, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen were both up-and-comers with relatively few movies in their careers – although Portman’s role had been highly acclaimed.
Jackson would have certainly taken the spotlight of the movies. And while Jar Jar had a memorable role, which would be a departure from Lucas’s vision.