Star Wars: Divergent Star Is Desperate to Join the Franchise, Even as a Stormtrooper

Actress Shailene Woodley has starred in major blockbuster franchises like the Divergent series and has also starred in critically acclaimed projects like HBO’s Big Little Lies, with her passion for the Star Wars saga being so strong that she would be willing to play a nameless stormtrooper in a film if the chance arose. Given her impressive resume and many talents, it wouldn’t be far fetched to see the actress take on a more prominent role in an upcoming project, though she admits that her infatuation with the series is so intense that she would almost prefer to maintain some distance between herself and how the galaxy is crafted.

“It probably sounds crazy, if the opportunity to play a lead in a Star Wars film came around, listen…I wouldn’t say no,” Woodley shared with Conan. “I also think it would just be really cool to be an extra. I think it would be very cool to put on a stormtrooper uniform and show up to set all day and sit there for 12 hours, doing the same walk back and forth, and just witnessing the magic. Because there’s something so magical about movies like that and part of being an actor is you see the inside of it and sometimes that’s great and sometimes that can take some of the magic away, so I don’t know if I’d want to ruin the magic for myself.”

From Daniel Craig to Ed Sheeran, the series is no stranger to big-name talent taking unrecognizable roles, with Woodley adding that the various cameos from the 1991 film Hook would make her excited to take a small part in a film.

“Do you remember the movie Hook? Do you know how many people were extras in that movie who just popped up who were friends of friends [of the filmmakers]?” the actress questioned. “I love that, I think that’s so cool. I think it would be neat to tell my kids one day, ‘See that stormtrooper? That’s me.’ They’ll never believe me, but…”

Lucasfilm currently has a number of Star Wars projects in the works, leading fans to wonder which could be the next to move forward. While there’s no telling what could be the next project to move forward, Woodley detailed that the next best thing to being in Star Wars is visiting Galaxy’s Edge.

“My best friends and I, for our New Year’s celebration, we went to Disneyland and went to Galaxy’s Edge and … listen, in kindergarten, I refused to go by my name and people had to call me ‘Leia,’” Woodley recalled. “I found the two boys in the class that I was friends with, the cute one, I made Han Solo and the one that I didn’t think was that cute was Luke and could be my brother and we just played Star Wars every single day, it’s just part of my DNA. Being there as an adult and seeing what they created at Disneyland, this is fully an unpaid advertisement, you have to go to Disneyland to witness Galaxy’s Edge if you like Star Wars.”

The coronavirus pandemic means that movie and TV productions have been put on an indefinite hiatus and that Disney parks around the world have been closed, with the actress’ comments having us even more excited for the pandemic to subside.

Would you like to see Woodley in a Star Wars film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!