50 Roles for 50 Actors: Dream casting the Star Wars saga

Recasting the Star Wars saga: Ewoks/Ki-Adi-Mundi/R2-D2

There are some roles that don’t need to be discussed at great length. Take R2-D2, for instance. The 3’8” Kenny Baker played him in all six Star Wars movies, but the job didn’t consist of much more than moving from one spot on the floor to another. Sure, he displayed some comic timing, but it’s probably a bit of a waste to cast a big name only to hide his or her face under R2-D2’s metal exterior.

The same goes for the Ewoks. We could cast, say, Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones as a prominent Ewok. It makes more sense than casting him as R2-D2, at any rate, since as an Ewok he would at least get to do some physical acting. It still seems like a waste to hide his face under the furry Ewok mask. At 4’5”, Dinklage might be a bit on the tall side, anyway, and there are doubtlessly other actors who would be happy for the role.

And what about a character like Ki-Adi-Mundi, aka that one Jedi from the prequel trilogy whose forehead looks like a penis? This is a walk-on role that has only one real qualification: the actor has to be willing to wear a prosthetic that makes his forehead look like a penis. If a big-name actor is up for that, then great, but if not, someone out there is willing.

Next: The unspeakable one