Star Wars is full of famous actors, yet some prominent faces in Hollywood had the opportunity to appear in the franchise before turning it down. From Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the franchise’s movies have launched the careers of many actors and boosted others. Today, the likes of Mark Hamill, Hayden Christensen, and Daisy Ridley are best known for their Star Wars roles, yet most fans of George Lucas’s universe don’t know that some of its most iconic characters could have been played by different actors. Over the years, numerous famous performers were in the running for a part in Star Wars before ultimately declining it.
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The following 10 actors have revealed that they turned down roles in Star Wars movies.
10) Mikey Madison
Months after winning Best Lead Actress at the Oscars, Mikey Madison was reportedly offered a major role in the upcoming movie Star Wars: Starfighter (2027). The Anora star decided to pass on the opportunity, taking her out of the running to share the screen with Ryan Gosling in director Shawn Levy’s film. No reason for Madison’s choice to turn down Star Wars: Starfighter has been publicly revealed, though the move certainly opens up her schedule for other projects. Madison is slated to lead Charlie Polinger’s Masque of the Red Death adaptation and appear in Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, so audiences won’t have to wait long to see her on the big screen again.
9) Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman was originally cast to voice General Grievous in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005). But the actor was forced to back out of the role because Revenge of the Sith was not a Screen Actors Guild shoot. Rather than violating union rules, Oldman left the project after recording his lines.
“Well, I did a voice for Star Wars…was it General Grievous?” What happened was something to do with union stuff and non-union stuff,” Oldman told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. I was not going to be the poster boy for [breaking union rules].”
Sound editor Matthew Wood replaced Oldman and delivered a fantastic performance as General Grievous in the film. Still, it’s fun to imagine what a version of the villain voiced by Oldman would have been like.
8) Sylvester Stallone
Most Star Wars fans aren’t aware that Sylvester Stallone was in the running to play Han Solo in the original trilogy. The star admitted that he purposely gave a poor audition because he didn’t think he looked the part. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Stallone revealed what he told George Lucas at the time.
“Let me just make it easy for you,” the actor said. “I would look like crap in spandex leotards and a ray gun. Guys in space don’t have this face. I get it.”
It’s safe to say that Harrison Ford was a perfect choice for Han Solo, as he turned the character into an icon with his cool charisma and action-star presence. Stallone has also achieved a ton of success since Star Wars began, namely in the form of his trademark role of Rocky Balboa. Thus, this looks like a win for both parties.
7) Benicio Del Toro
Benicio Del Toro notably played DJ in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), though rumors suggest he nearly took on a bigger role in the prequel trilogy over a decade earlier. According to reports at the time, Del Toro was in talks to play Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999), but eventually turned down the role when Maul’s screen time was reduced from early versions of the script. Del Toro has since stated that he doesn’t “remember being cast in another Star Wars movie except for the one I was cast,” so the validity of rumors linking him to Maul remains questionable. Nonetheless, Star Wars fans have enjoyed the performances of Ray Park and voice actor Peter Serafinowicz as the Sith apprentice. Thankfully, Del Toro made it into Star Wars later in his career and has appeared in other great films like Sicario (2015) and One Battle After Another (2025).
6) Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara turned down the possibility of starring as Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) after having a conversation with director Gareth Edwards.
“I met with the director, and I really liked him, but then I didn’t end up reading for it,” Mara told Deadline. “I was working and it wasn’t the right thing for me, so I decided not to read for it.”
After Mara took herself out of the running for the role of Erso, Felicity Jones was cast in the movie. Viewers loved Jones’s fierceness in Rogue One, which remains one of Star Wars’ highest-rated projects. Even though Rogue One wasn’t what Mara was looking for, the actress has since displayed her talent in other films such as A Ghost Story (2017), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Women Talking (2022).
5) Michael Fassbender
Magnetic, composed, and always in command of the screen, Michael Fassbender could have added Star Wars to his distinguished acting resumé. In 2017, the star revealed that he spoke with director J.J. Abrams about a role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
“We talked about a role,” Fassbender said. “We had a conversation. I’m pretty sure I was busy doing something else in the summer he was kickstarting that.”
Fassender did not disclose which character he was in discussion to portray; however, fans have speculated that he might have been in line for Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) or General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). Tragically, Fassbender hasn’t appeared in Star Wars yet, as his exceptional range and knack for action movies perfectly suit him for a galaxy far, far away. Perhaps Lucasfilm will circle back to Fassbender in the future and find the right role for him.
4) Al Pacino
Al Pacino had multiple Oscar nominations under his belt when he refused an offer to play Han Solo in Star Wars. Before A New Hope opened in theaters, the legendary actor was early in his career, but his widely acclaimed performances in The Godfather (1972), Serpico (1973), and The Godfather Part II (1974) made him an in-demand talent. Despite receiving a generous offer, Pacino could not see himself in Star Wars.
“Well, I turned down Star Wars. When I first came up, I was the new kid on the block, you know what happens when you first become famous. It’s like, ‘Give it to Al.’ They’d give me Queen Elizabeth to play,” Pacino shared in 2023. “They gave me a script called Star Wars … They offered me so much money. I don’t understand it. I read it. … So I said I couldn’t do it. I gave Harrison Ford a career.”
Pacino’s difficulty in comprehending all of the ins and outs of the Star Wars universe paved the way for Ford’s renowned performance. Continuing with his jokes, Pacino later explained his thought process behind rejecting the opportunity to play Han Solo.
“[I thought], I must be out of space myself,” Pacino told EW. “But I looked at this thing and I sent it to Charlie Loughton, my friend and mentor, actually. I said, ‘What do you make of this?’ He was pretty wise and he said, ‘I don’t get it, Al. I dunno. I don’t get it.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t either; what are we going to do? They offered me a fortune, but I don’t know. No, I can’t play something if I don’t speak the language.’”
Pacino has fared pretty well over the decades without a Star Wars film on his resumé, so it’s unlikely he has regrets about his rejection of Han Solo.
3) Jodie Foster
Easily among the most beloved Star Wars legacy characters, Princess Leia is wonderfully defined by Carrie Fisher’s portrayal. However, the original trilogy initially pondered a younger version of the character played by Jodie Foster. The Taxi Driver star had to back out of A New Hope due to a prior commitment, as she explained to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in 2024.
“I was [offered the role of Leia], yeah,” Foster said. “They were going for a younger Princess Leia but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract.”
Although Star Wars fans adore Fisher’s Princess Leia, many wonder how Foster’s rendition of the character would have fit in the franchise. Star Wars might have done wonders for Foster’s young career, but the actress has put together an impressive filmography featuring highly praised films like The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) . The two-time Oscar winner would have been great in Star Wars, though it seems everything turned out fine in the end.
2) Kurt Russell
Unlike the other performers on this list, Kurt Russell was actually considered for two Star Wars roles at the same time. Russell auditioned for both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, though when it was apparent he wasn’t going to land either part, he decided to accept a role in a different project.
“I didn’t have any idea what I was talking about,” Russell said of his audition. “Something about a Death Star and a Millennium Falcon. I was actually pretty [close], in the final running, but I needed to give an answer to ABC to do a western show. I asked George, ‘Do you think you’re gonna use me?’ He said, ‘I don’t know if I want to put you with him, or those two guys together.’ I got to go to work, so I did the western. Clearly, made the right choice.”
Given his stature as a veteran of the Western and sci-fi genres, it seems likely Russell would have made a good Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. Despite walking away from Star Wars, the actor has found plenty of success in Hollywood thanks to his roles in movies such as The Thing (1982) and The Hateful Eight (2015).
1) Leonardo DiCaprio
It’s hard to see anyone other than Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel movies. Even more difficult is imagining Leonardo DiCaprio, who has never featured in a film franchise, appearing in Star Wars. However, the Titanic star had the chance to step into the famous role of Anakin. Back in 2017, DiCaprio recounted meeting with George Lucas about playing Anakin and described how he “just didn’t feel ready to take that dive.”
DiCaprio’s decision not to pursue a role in Star Wars was arguably a genius move, as the actor went on to headline films from Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, and other esteemed directors. It’s possible DiCaprio’s filmography would look different if he had opted to work on the Star Wars prequels. DiCaprio didn’t need Star Wars to achieve his towering status in Hollywood today, and Star Wars found its perfect Anakin in Christensen.
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