See Leonardo DiCaprio as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels with stunning video

No matter your feelings about the Star Wars prequel trilogy, you can’t deny the impact it’s had on the franchise. ’90s kids all remember how fun it was to finally go see a Star Wars movie on the big screen, the memes that have come out of the trilogy are unbeatable, and the cast of the three films is certainly star-studded. But a couple of actors from the prequels weren’t super famous at the time. One example would be Hayden Christensen.

Although Christensen was actually nominated for a Golden Globe prior to joining a galaxy far, far, away with his role in the 2001 movie Life as a House, the actor was barely known in the mainstream. Of course, all of that changed once he took on the role of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.

But as many Star Wars fans know, Christensen wasn’t the only actor considered to play the brooding villain-to-be. Leonardo DiCaprio was actually offered the role, and he decided to turn it down. Throughout the years, fans have wondered what it would’ve been like for the acclaimed actor to take on the iconic part, and now we’re getting a glimpse of what could’ve been.

What Leonardo DiCaprio could’ve looked like as Anakin Skywalker

In a convincing Deepfake video posted by the Collider Extras YouTube channel, we see Leonardo DiCaprio as a child playing Anakin in The Phantom Menace (actually played by Jake Lloyd), and a young adult DiCaprio playing Christensen’s role opposite Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala. Check out the stunning video below.

Leonardo DiCaprio has spoken about his decision to turn down Star Wars, explaining in a 2015 interview that while he did meet with George Lucas about the role, he “just didn’t feel ready to take that dive. At that point.” Though not spilling a ton of details about why he didn’t feel ready, it’s clear DiCaprio was not willing to join a major franchise like Star Wars at the time.

By the time Attack of the Clones came out in 2002, DiCaprio had already starred in Romeo and Juliet and Titanic. In 2002, Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can premiered, two of his biggest films to date, among a long list of others, of course. The actor was already in the big leagues at the time and didn’t have to join Star Wars to make a name for himself.

And in the end, Hayden Christensen was a great choice to play Anakin Skywalker, though his portrayal is very divisive. The actor will be reprising his role as Darth Vader in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show, which has many fans of the prequels incredibly excited.