Star Wars: Does Matt Smith Appear in The Rise of Skywalker?

Beginning more than a year before the film landed in theaters, reports claimed that Doctor Who star Matt Smith would be involved in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in some capacity, with some websites offering "official" descriptions of the film and listing him as a cast member alongside names announced by Lucasfilm themselves. Fans have been wondering if these rumors were unfounded or if Smith could have been playing a pivotal role that, by even confirming he appeared, would reveal key details about the film, though with The Rise of Skywalker now in theaters, it would appear we have our answer.

WARNING: Spoilers below for The Rise of Skywalker

By all accounts, Smith does not appear in the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga. While there were a number of performers that have been rumored to appear in the film, Smith is worth addressing as not appearing due to how many reports claimed he would appear.

While Smith might not have a recognizable appearance, it's hard to rule out his involvement in the project entirely. As proven with both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, filmmakers regularly enlist a number of performers to have an uncredited and unrecognizable appearance in the galaxy far, far away. It has been confirmed that both Ed Sheeran and Lin-Manuel Miranda had cameos in The Rise of Skywalker, yet it was difficult for audiences to spot them in the film.

Between the number of masked members of the First Order, heavily made-up creatures, and sentient droids, it's still possible that Smith was involved in the film in a completely unrecognizable capacity, leaving audiences to wait and wonder if such an event occurred through confirmation by a member of the film's crew.

Given the secretive nature of the Star Wars saga, getting a straight answer from anyone about who is or isn't involved is easier said than done, as other people involved with the series have heavily refuted their involvement, only for those performers to appear. Earlier this year, it's possible the answer emerged and was clear as day.

Journalist Emily Zemler shared earlier this year that she had asked Smith about his involvement, to which he replied, "As far as I can tell, I'm definitely not."

If Smith is actually involved in the film, it's in a capacity that's easy to overlook, with it also being possible that he was, at one point, attached to the project, only for those plans to be scrapped, but with things never being official, it was difficult to officially deny something that was never confirmed.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters now.

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