How’s this for alternative casting? Variety reports that Jodie Foster confirmed to Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” that, yes, she was offered the role of Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars.” But the actress turned down the part, citing a contract for a Disney movie she had already signed. Based on the timeframe, that likely was “Freaky Friday,” which hit theaters a year before “A New Hope” premiered.
“You’ve been in so many iconic roles, and we love what you do,” Fallon said on the show. “But I saw this on the internet — you were offered the role of Princess Leia in ‘Star Wars,’ is that true?” Foster responded, “I was, yeah. 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.”
Imagine Foster as Leia for a moment. It would have been a much different characterization than Carrie Fisher‘s, not least because of Foster’s age at the time. While Fisher was just 19 when shooting “A New Hope,” Foster was barely a teenager at 13 to 14 years old. A Leia much younger than Mark Hamill‘s Luke and Harrison Ford‘s Han Solo would have been a much different start to “Star Wars.” But it’s not as if Foster wasn’t ready for a role like Leia. The actress was already starring in roles mature for her young age, including Martin Scorsese‘s “Taxi Driver” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” as well as the 1976 cult film “The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane.”
But Foster praised Fisher landing the part after she turned it down. “And they did an amazing job,” Foster said of her late acting colleague. “I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair,” she joked. “I might have gone with a pineapple.”
Foster and Fisher ended up having very different acting careers. Fisher reprising Leia in four more “Star Wars” films, while Foster continued to land less fantastical roles. And fifty years into her career, Foster continues to pick parts that earn her praise. She’s in talks for an Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod this year for “Nyad,” and also stars in “True Detective: Night Country,” premiering on HBO/Max now. But in some alternate universe, she may have been a princess a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…