Star Wars: The Clone Wars Actor Was Nearly Cast as Kanan for Rebels

Actor Sam Witwer has a long history with the Star Wars saga, having voiced characters for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, with the actor recently revealing that he was nearly tapped to voice Kanan Jarrus for the 2014 series Star Wars Rebels before the series recruited Freddie Prinze Jr. for the role. Despite not taking the starring role, Witwer and Lucasfilm still have a positive relationship, as he went on to detail that he sees what Prinze did with the character as being the superior approach, while Witwer went on to voice other characters in the series.

"Rebels, for a second according to a few people at Lucasfilm, was called 'The Sam Show' because I was Kanan," Witwer shared with SW Holocron. "And then they found Freddie after they heard Freddie's audition. I've got to be honest, I had a certain take on the character, and what I was doing was not better than what Freddie was doing. What Freddie was doing was better than what I was doing in my opinion, and I realized that when I saw it. I was like, wow, this guy is absolutely that character. I think that's the way to go."

In Rebels, Witwer went on to voice Emperor Palpatine and Maul, with the performer going on to voice Maul in his live-action appearance in Solo: A Star Wars Story while Ray Park embodied the villain he played in 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Given the performer's skills with the character, fans had long hoped to see him play Maul in some capacity on the big screen, with even the actor feeling doubtful that he would ever get such an opportunity.

"I have had fans come up to me over the years and they say things like, 'Hey, do you think Maul will ever be in a movie and you'll voice him?' I would just say, 'That's adorable. That's so sweet. No, of course not. That's never going to happen, but so cute that you think that that would ever happen,'" Witwer previously explained to ComicBook.com back in 2018. "Or they'd say things like, 'Do you think they'll ever make The Clone Wars again?' I'd be like, 'Shh, you're okay. Go to sleep.' I would have this slightly, I hate to say it but, condescending thought of, 'I know how the business works, and the fans don't, but they have enthusiasm. It's wonderful that they have this enthusiasm.'"

All four seasons of Star Wars Rebels are streaming now on Disney+. New episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars debut on Fridays.

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