‘Star Wars’: Charlie Hunnam Says An “Awkward” Meeting With George Lucas Resulted In Him Not Landing Anakin Role

If you remember, at the turn of the 21st century, the world was being reintroduced to the “Star Wars” franchise through George Lucas’ prequel trilogy. 1999 saw “The Phantom Menace,” which was a massive hit, and it was quickly followed up in 2002 with “Attack of the Clones.” But in between those films, a major casting search was conducted to find the young man who would play Anakin Skywalker, the tragic Jedi who eventually becomes Darth Vader. And of all the actors brought in, Charlie Hunnam apparently was one part of the final batch. However, his “Star Wars” dreams were dashed after a meeting with Lucas.

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Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Charlie Hunnam talked about “Rebel Moon,” his new Netflix sci-fi space fantasy film, which itself began life as a potential “Star Wars” spinoff. And because of this connection, he was asked about his time auditioning for the role of Anakin Skywalker more than 20 years ago. Hunnam doesn’t remember all of the details, but he clearly remembers his meeting with George Lucas and how it didn’t go as well as he would have liked.

“I got to the point where I was meeting George Lucas, you know? Which… I don’t think he meets a lot of actors,” said Hunnam. “I think it was probably, maybe, two to three actors they were considering. I don’t remember much about it.”

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He added, “I remember that I was nervous and I was a little bit awkward. And I just remember walking out and thinking, ‘Well, I’m definitely not getting that role.’ And I was correct. Sometimes it’s about the vibes.”

We all know that Hayden Christensen would end up with the role, beating out a number of other young actors, including Hunnam. It’s interesting to imagine a world where Hunnam landed the “Star Wars” gig. At the point when casting would have happened, the actor was probably best known for his role in the original “Queer as Folk” series. From there, in 2001, he would land a role in the short-lived comedy series, “Undeclared.” Hunnam’s career wouldn’t really take off until several years later, when he landed the lead in “Sons of Anarchy,” a role that he is still linked to today. 

Maybe in some alternate universe, Christensen would go on to land ‘Sons’ and Hunnam would be showing up in ‘Ahsoka.’ That is a wild thing to think about.