Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy recently made a controversial statement where she noted how the company learned that it couldn’t recast new actors in known roles as the audience wouldn’t like it. This was a direct reference to Star Wars' Solo, which did ruffle some feathers with how Han and Chewie were portrayed.
But it’s safe to say that the message Kennedy thought was the correct takeaway is anything but. The reaction to Solo had far more to do with its writing and troubled production of anything else.
Lucasfilm’s president may have said those words, but there’s still a Lando show in development for Donald Glover’s version of the character.
While Alden Ehrenreich ended up landing the role of Solo in the controversial project, another notable actor revealed that he was also once in the running: Taron Egerton. But why did he not take it?
Taron Egerton Denies the Millennium Falcon
In an interview with Happy Sad Confused, Taron Egerton commented on how he was once in the running for both Han Solo in the Star Wars film Solo and Cyclops for the Fox X-Men films.
The actor revealed that not only was he in the running for the role, but he also “remove[d] [himself] from both of those races:”
“Yeah, I mean it’s hard… I feel like there’s like an unspoken thing in Hollywood where… it feels almost taboo to talk about the conversations you’ve had that never come to a reality. But I don’t care about that. No, I did. I did remove myself from both of those races. I did, yeah.”
He shared how he did get to be “in full costume… with Chewie," but that at the end of the day, he simply “didn’t feel it:”
“I felt like that… I felt that– I mean, I’ll be honest, I got on the Falcon. I was with Chewie. I was in the full costume… and I… you know what, that’s what I felt like. I felt like I got there, I did it, I lived it. And there was one more… there was another round that I decided not to do. And it’s far enough in the past now that I feel like I can say that. I hope no one feels annoyed that I have said it. But it just felt to me like I didn’t feel… like you know when we mentioned earlier that thing when I read the Kingsman script and I was like, ‘This is– I’ve gotta do this. This is my part.’ I just didn’t feel it.”
Finishing off, Egerton admitted that he also didn’t want to follow Harrison Ford, which he felt to be a losing battle in the first place:
“Yeah, and can really own it and really– ’cause you’re following Harrison Ford… No one ever wants to follow Harrison Ford, you know? So yeah, that didn’t happen.”
Egerton also spoke to Sway’s Universe, via Heroic Hollywood, about removing himself from playing Cyclops, admitting that being unable to use his eyes during his performance as the major deal breaker:
“I don’t mind saying that was a real thing, that was a real conversation. I’ve never said this, actually. To be honest, the reason that conversation never went anywhere further is because I didn’t want to play a character for a potential series of movies where you don’t see my eyes. For me, I felt, instinctively, creatively, that – like, the eyes are the windows to the soul. I would find that challenging, and I just didn’t find it an intriguing prospect. It’s not that they ever offered it to me, but there was a conversation – a real conversation – that never went any further.”
Could Star Wars One Day Bring on Egerton?
Those are two massive roles that Taron Egerton didn’t just not get, but he seemingly actively denied them. It goes to show how the actor is conservative with the projects he takes on.
But could fans see him play someone else in the Star Wars project? It’s certainly possible; there are plenty of different shows or movies in development that there has to be something for the actor. Based on his behavior above, it’s likely safe to bet that if he hops aboard the Lucasfilm train, it’ll be for an original role.
For those wondering what’s happened to Alden Ehrenreich, the actor who did take the role of Han Solo, he recently came up in the pop culture conversation when it was revealed he would be joining Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series Ironheart next year. No details on his role were given.
Solo is available to stream on Disney+, while Ironheart is expected to hit the service at some point next year.
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