Back in 2018, it was reported that Matt Smith had joined the cast of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” At the time, the role was unknown. Then, a year later, before ‘Skywalker’ hit theaters, the actor confirmed he wasn’t in the film. So, what happened? Well, according to Smith, he was approached to be in ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ in a role that would have been “transformative,” but it didn’t actually come to fruition.
Speaking on the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, Matt Smith was asked about his involvement in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” And while he opens up about the particulars about how he was almost in the film but not quite, the actor doesn’t do more than tease how big the role would have been.
“No, I didn’t [shoot any scenes,]” he said. “We were close to me being in it and then it never quite happened. I think the thing they were thinking of me for, eventually it became obsolete and they didn’t need it, and so, I never got to be in ‘Star Wars,’ there we are.”
Asked if he was playing Palpatine’s son, Smith answered, “I could not possibly say,” he said after a pause. “But it was a pretty groovy thing, it was a really groovy part and concept. It was a big thing, it was a big story detail, a transformative ‘Star Wars’ story detail and it never got quite over the line.”
“I mean it was like a big [makes a redacted sound] shift in the history of the franchise,” he continued. “There was no costume [test] and there were a couple of meetings to talk about it. Maybe I can come back, you never know. To come back as… [*the phone starts to cuts out, no really*]. Sorry, my friend.”
Obviously, fans will begin speculation about what role Smith could have been. But in the meantime, you can see the actor in another major franchise— “Game of Thrones.” Matt Smith is part of the main cast of HBO’s first ‘Thrones’ prequel series, “House of the Dragon.” And he describes his role in that series as an “interesting, dark and disturbed part to play.”
Lastly, he offers up another casting tidbit for film fans, explaining that he played the young Ralph Fiennes in Martin McDonagh’s “In Bruges,” but was ultimately cut out of the film.
You can hear the full discussion below: