We know the stars of Star Wars, but there were many others who could have been embodied the iconic roles. See the list of stars who almost appeared in a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars movies have turned actors such as Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Daisy Ridley into household names.
But a galaxy far, far away could have included many other familiar faces.
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That includes members of the pop group NSYNC, who filmed two scenes for Episode II: Attack of the Clones, including the Geonosis battle. The scenes were filmed in 2001, but didn’t make the final movie.
Joey Fatone and his brother Steven filmed with Joey’s bandmates Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez, the Fatone brothers recalled to HuffPost in 2015 (Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass didn’t participate).
“They kind of paired us off, it was actually me and my brother that were kind of fighting back-to-back for the big arena scene,” Joey Fatone told HuffPost. “They basically said, ‘Pretend like you’re fighting droids.’”
Their outfits included Jedi robes and Padawan braids.
Rumors of the cameo didn’t go over too well with fans, and the scenes later went “Bye, Bye, Bye” But the thought of NSYNC in Attack of the Clones lives on online — specifically a 2002 “Saturday Night Live” skit that reimagined the group’s time on set and shows the boy band harmonizing about being a “Jedi Knight in these Jedi days” while gyrating and swinging plastic lightsabers.
It wasn’t the first time a music star hoped to appear in a Star Wars movie. The King of Pop had similar dreams.
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.
Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken and Al Pacino
George Lucas considered lots of options before casting his smug smuggler, Han Solo, in the first Star Wars movie.
The role — which Harrison Ford played in four movies — could have gone to a range of other actors. Lucas was hesitant to cast Ford, then a character actor known for his carpentry talents, because they had previously worked together on American Graffiti and Lucas wanted to use fresh faces.
According to Gina McIntyre’s book Star Wars Icons: Han Solo, Ford read the male parts for dozens of screen tests for other actors and actresses.
Some of the many actors considered to play Han included Christopher Walken and Kurt Russell, who took himself out of consideration — to star in the TV western “The Quest,” which filmed 15 episodes.
"“I said to George one day, ‘Do you know if you’re gonna use me or not, because I’ve got this other show,’” Russell told Access Hollywood in 2017. “I finally came down to Friday and I had to answer and I said, ‘George, I gotta know and he said, ‘I just don’t know.’ And I said, ‘I gotta go and do this television show, this western, I’ve gotta get to work.’”"
The role was also offered to Al Pacino, fresh off the first two Godfather movies. But Pacino passed: “I didn’t understand the script,” he said decades later.
As other actors passed on the role as the “scruffy looking Nerf Herder,” Ford was a constant presence who knew the script about as well as anyone. And by this point, it’s tough to consider anyone else embodying the role the way he has.
Tupac Shakur
In addition to being a great rapper, Tupac Shakur was also an established actor — and he wanted to play a Jedi master.
Prior to his 1996 murder, Shakur auditioned to play Mace Windu in The Phantom Menace. The part would eventually go to a fellow actor in the 1992 movie Juice, Samuel L. Jackson.
The “Ambitionz As a Ridah” rapper was ambitious about appearing in the Star Wars universe.
"“He was telling me that he was supposed to read for George Lucas,” Rick Clifford, an engineer at Death Row Records, told 2PacForumChannel in 2014. “They wanted him to be a Jedi… Samuel L. got Tupac’s part. He said, ‘Ol man,’ he used to call me ol’ man, ‘keep your fingers crossed. I got three movies coming up. One of ‘em, I gotta read for George Lucas.’”"
The two movies released after Tupac’s death were Gridlock’d — with Tim Roth and Thandie Newton — and Gang Related, alongside Jim Belushi, Lela Rochon and Dennis Quaid. He also appeared in Above the Rim, Poetic Justice and Nothing but Trouble in his too-short but influential life.
Jackson, meanwhile, brought grit and energy to Mace Windu, a character that was initially slated to appear in the original Star Wars movies but was reintroduced for the trilogy.
And, who knows, Mace Windu may just end up someplace else.
Orson Welles
The voice of Darth Vader is so iconic.
And it could have sounded so different if George Lucas went with his initial choice for the voice.
Orson Welles — the director and star of Citizen Kane, who by the 1970s had become a Hollywood outcast — was considered to voice Darth Vader. Welles had a commanding voice. Decades earlier, he had caused mass hysteria with his War of the Worlds radio address.
Instead of Welles, the vocal role was given to James Earl Jones — a respected stage and film actor who starred in the 1970 movie The Great White Hope — to pair with David Prowse’s on-screen performance as the sinister leader of the Imperial Forces.
"“Originally, George Lucas wanted Orson Welles,” Jones said in a 1995 interview. “But he decided Orson would be too recognizable, so he asked me. Nobody dreamed the films would be a hit. All the actors got a percentage and they became millionaires. But I was just a voice, special effect. I got a flat fee of $9,000 for two hours’ work. At the time, I thought it was good money.”"
Jones wasn’t even credited for A New Hope at the time, since he considered his input merely “special effects.” While the first Star Wars effort may not have paid well for Jones, his voice work as Vader — including sequels, Star Wars Rebels and prequels — has become lucrative and an iconic part of the Star Wars films.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Walker
The casting for Anakin Skywalker in Episode II: Attack of the Clones covered every corner of the universe — and involved meetings with hundreds and hundreds of actors, according to a 2000 Entertainment Weekly article.
The list included Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as fellow heartthrobs James Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson and Paul Walker, the late star of the Fast and Furious movies. Other actors considered included Ryan Phillippe and Chris Klein.
Pretty much any actor in Hollywood at the time of a certain age.
DiCaprio would have been a dream as Anakin, but he would have also looked significantly older than Natalie Portman’s Padmé Amidala. Portman who was 19 at the time of filming, while DiCaprio was nearly seven years her senior.
Publicity around Jackson and Walker’s being considered was believed to have hurt their chances — leaks are a big no-no for LucasFilms.
The would-be Anakins (Hayden Christensen eventually got the part for Episodes II and III) even included Jeff Garner, an Indiana stockbroker who sparred at a karate tournament with Ray Park, who played Darth Maul. Garner, who now goes by Jett, has appeared in a handful of acting roles and now runs a martial arts studio in Texas.
Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman was considered for Star Wars roles … twice.
And both times, things didn’t quite work out.
The Harry Potter and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star was in talks to perform voice work as General Grievous for Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2004.
The voiceovers would have been recorded after shooting for the movie had already been completed. And given Oldman’s talent, his voice could have brought depth to the movie. But Oldman ended up withdrawing from consideration after he learned the movie didn’t involve Screen Actors Guild representation since it was filmed in Australia and the U.K.
"“We did urge Lucas to ask SAG for special permission for Gary to do the movie, but they became very annoyed and I know they are still annoyed,” Oldman’s manager Doug Urbanski told Variety in 2004. “We’re quite puzzled by the whole thing. But out of respect for and solidarity with the other (SAG) members, he could not and would not consider violating the rules of his union.”"
Matthew Wood, supervising sound editor at Skywalker Sound, got the role instead, and has voiced the evil General Grievous in The Clone Wars and video games.
A decade later, Oldman participated in conversations about appearing in The Force Awakens, but that too fell through.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 06: Jodie Foster speaks onstage during the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Denzel Washington at Dolby Theatre on June 06, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for WarnerMedia) 610265
Jodie Foster, Cindy Williams and Sissy Spacek
Jodie Foster established herself as an acting master at the ripe old age of 14.
Her performance as a teen prostitute in Taxi Driver in 1976 garnered an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress (Beatrice Straight won for Network) and attention from the Star Wars casting team, who thought Foster might be the perfect fit as Princess Leia, the role Carrie Fisher would make her own.
Another possibility for Leia was Cindy Williams, who like Harrison Ford, had appeared in American Graffiti (Williams played Laurie Henderson, the on-and-off love interest of Ron Howard’s character Steve).
Williams read for the part, but she also had a TV show set to debut in 1976, Laverne & Shirley, starring alongside Penny Marshall. That show ended up running until 1982, right around the time filming was wrapping up on Return of the Jedi.
Sissy Spacek also auditioned for the role. George Lucas and his friend, Brian De Palma, held joint auditions for Star Wars and a horror movie of De Palma’s, Carrie, adapted from a Stephen King novel, because both movies were looking for actors of a similar age range.
While Spacek missed out on Star Wars, she ended up starring in Carrie, turning in a career-turning performance.
Michael B. Jordan and Saoirse Ronan
Michael B. Jordan has a pretty impressive resume.
The Wire. Fruitvale Station. Creed. Black Panther.
That resume could have also included Episodes VII, VIII and IX. Jordan read for a role in The Force Awakens, seemingly for Finn, which went to John Boyega.
“I mean, everybody’s going in on this project. They’re trying to figure out what they want. That’s another incredible franchise. It’s pretty crazy … we’ll see how it happens. I don’t know how I can do everything,” Jordan told HuffPost in 2013.
At the time, internet speculation suggested Jordan auditioned for the role of Lando Calrissian’s son, which hasn’t been disproven. Billy Dee Williams is reprising his role as Lando in Episode IX: The Last Jedi, which should offer insight into Rey and Finn’s backgrounds.
Jordan wasn’t the only actor who failed to get a part after confirming their secretive audition process for The Force Awakens. Saoirse Ronan — who was up for the role of Rey — made similar comments as Jordan about everyone auditioning, and ended up losing out to Daisy Ridley.
Ronan has done OK for herself as well, winning the Academy Award for Lady Bird and performing in other critical hits such as The Grand Budapest Hotel.
William Katt and Robby Benson
The star of The Greatest American Hero could have been a star in Star Wars.
William Katt, who played Mr. H. on the sitcom Greatest American Hero from 1981 to 1983, was in the running to play Luke Skywalker before Mark Hamill got the part.
Katt’s time auditioning, like Sissy Spacek, helped him secure a key role in Carrie as the main character’s prom date.
Robby Benson was also considered. Benson is probably best known for providing the voice of the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.
Will Seltzer — who appeared in Johnny Dangerously and other roles, including an eight-episode arc on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman — was another finalist for Luke.
In recent years, Hamill watched the audition tapes of the other actors who were considered for the role.
“They were all great,” Hamill told The New York Times. “They all could have been really good Luke Skywalkers, which really makes me appreciate the arbitrariness.”
But there would only be one Luke Skywalker, and the role ended up going to the son of a Navy captain, someone who had a string of TV appearances but no prior breakout roles. Robert Englund — who’d later find fame as Freddy Kruger — suggested to Hamill to audition for Star Wars, and the rest is movie history.
What other actors do you wish would have been cast in the Star Wars movies?