Michael Shannon Says He Turned Down a 'Star Wars' Role: 'I Don't Find Them Interesting' Tommy McArdle is an editorial assistant on the Movies team at PEOPLE. Tommy joined PEOPLE in 2022. Michael Shannon says he once turned down a role in Star Wars because he doesn't take interest in big franchises.
Can you imagine a young Al Pacino replacing Harrison Ford in the beloved Star Wars saga as the courageous Han Solo? No, neither can we. PIA reveals that this was the initial plan put forward by George Lucas, but Pacino turned down the role as he thought he wouldn't be a good fit to play the character.
Al Pacino said he turned down "so much money" to appear in "Star Wars." "The Godfather" star was offered the role of Han Solo in 1977's "A New Hope." He joked that by declining the role he "gave Harrison Ford a career."
Kurt Russell as Luke Skywalker
Russell told USA Today in 2017 that he was in the final round to play either Luke Skywalker or Han Solo but dropped out of the process to star in ABC's The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, a western show that only ran for one season.
8 Jodie Foster: Leia Organa
Despite having the offer to play the role of Leia, Foster turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts, as Foster was filming Taxi Driver at the same time. It's for the better that Carrie Fisher ended up in the role, and Foster seems to agree as well.
Padme Amidala (Vinette Robinson) A few years ago during an interview on The Two Shot Podcast, Vinette Robinson revealed that when she was 13 years old she had auditioned for the role that would eventually go to Natalie Portman.
Al Pacino reveals he turned down 'Star Wars' role of Han Solo: 'I gave Harrison Ford a career'
Lucas wanted the actor to play the part of Obi-Wan to give a nod to the connection between his movie and the movie that had inspired it so much, but Toshiro Mifune turned the part down.
The actor behind the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy almost wasn't Ewan McGregor. Shakespeare in Love star Joseph Fiennes auditioned to play Obi-Wan, but someone convinced George Lucas, whom Fiennes calls simply "the director," to hire someone else instead.
It stayed at number one for 11 weeks and was the highest-grossing film of the year of its release, in 1985. Despite its success, it was initially rejected more than 40 times by major studios such as Disney and Columbia Pictures, and some studios even rejected it more than once.
Jim Henson
Mr Muppet himself was wanted to play Yoda but ended up saying no to Lucas for unknown reasons. To make amends, he recommended Frank Oz, who was eventually cast in the role.
In the fourth draft it was established that "Leia Organa" came instead from Alderaan. Fisher was 19 when she was cast as Princess Leia, with actresses including Amy Irving, Cindy Williams and Jodie Foster also up for the role.
The Disney Star Wars era saw no involvement from Lucas. After selling his properties to the corporate giant, he also handed over story treatments for the sequel trilogy. Regrettably, for Lucas's devotees, Disney threw these ideas out and started from scratch on Episodes VII, VIII, and XI.
The Real Reason 'Blue Bloods' Star Tom Selleck Turned Down the Indiana Jones Role.
“Apart from the money, I regret having embarked on the film,” Guinness reportedly grumbled during production. “I like them well enough, but it's not an acting job, the dialogue—which is lamentable—keeps being changed and only slightly improved, and I find myself old and out of touch with the young.”
On a very practical level, Vader could see that Obi-Wan had allies, and he probably sensed that there was a ring of Jedi supporters. If he captured or killed Kenobi right then, he would have had a much smaller chance of tracking down the other Imperial dissenters who were helping Jedi survivors.
OBI-WAN KENOBI Reveals Surprising Backstory For Temuera Morrison's Homeless Clone Trooper. It appears Nax wasn't among the soldiers enlisted by Anakin Skywalker on the night of Order 66 to attack the Jedi Temple.
With Pacino out of the picture, a number of actors screen-tested for the role, including Kurt Russell, Perry King, Christopher Walken, and Burt Reynolds. Lucasfilm has even released footage of some of those tests, but an unlikely actor won the part: Harrison Ford.
Anticipating Solo's arrival, Darth Vader and Boba Fett had already forced Lando to betray Han and Princess Leia. Lando agreed to turn Han over in return for a guarantee that the Empire would leave Cloud City alone. But Vader reneged on the deal, leading to an Imperial occupation.
By the time Return of the Jedi was being made in 1982, Ford was sick of Han Solo. In fact, he started asking Lucas if he could get Han killed off just to give the character some depth. Ford recalled: "I did think the character itself was relatively thin. I would have liked to see some complication for the character."
George Lucas himself has stated that Anakin is the Chosen One and that the prophecy is true, although it had been misinterpreted by the entire Jedi Order. Lucas believes that both the dark side—greed— and the light side—compassion—are integral parts of human beings.
According to a 2015 interview with Shortlist, DiCaprio was also offered the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. As with the two superhero roles, DiCaprio turned down the offer, not feeling ready to take on a role that big quite yet, despite his past successes.