Summary
Can you imagine anyone but Harrison Ford in the role of Han Solo? Well, one of the most beloved actors of all time turned downStar Warsdespite being offered a boatload of money.
It can be easy to forget all these years later, butStar Warswasn’t exactly a hyped project when it was coming together back in the 1970s. Sure,George Lucaswas coming off the surprising massive success ofAmerican Graffiti, butStar Warsis one of those infamous movies that nobody thought was going to work. It went over budget, had a script that the actors thought was laughable, and had so many production issues, almost everyone involved figured they had a box office flop on their hands. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, andStar Warschanged the moviemaking business forever. It also helped turn the little-known Harrison Ford into a megastar thanks to his portrayal ofHan Solo. Ford wasn’t the first choice to play the rougeish Solo as numerous actors read for the role, with one in particular being offered a huge bag of money to play the part.
While promoting his new filmThe Ritual, Al Pacino toldEntertainment Weeklythat he simply didn’t getStar Wars. Much has been made of him deciding not to take the role, but he opened up a bit further than he has in the past. “So I loved [Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese & George Lucas’s] work, but I was doing a show on Broadway at the time, and they handed me this script, and I thought, ‘I don’t understand,'” Pacino explained.Pacinowasn’t the only actor to be a bit dumbfounded by theStar Warsscript.
“I looked at this thing and I sent it to Charlie Loughton, my friend and mentor, actually. I said, ‘What do you make of this?’ He was pretty wise, and he said, ‘I don’t get it, Al. I dunno. I don’t get it.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t either; what are we going to do? They offered me a fortune, but I don’t know. No, I can’t play something if I don’t speak the language.'”
Al Pacino isn’t alone in turning down Han Solo, asBurt Reynoldsfamously also declined to take the role. That being said, Pacino is a higher caliber of actor than Reynolds, as great as he was. At the time, Pacino was coming off the first twoGodfatherfilms,Serpico,andDog Day Afternoon. The man was nominated for an Oscar in the four years leading up toStar Wars'1977 release. Had 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm actually managed to nab Pacino for Han Solo, he would’ve been front and center in the marketing blitz for the film. It realistically could’ve been distracting seeing such a famous and beloved actor in a galaxy far, far away.
Of course, the casting what-ifs forStar Warsare endless.Kurt Russelland Robert Englund read for Luke Skywalker while Karen Allen and Amy Irving read for Leia Organa. George Lucas considered casting Orson Welles himself for Darth Vader’s voice instead of James Earl Jones. The alternate casting choices are an interesting thought experiment, no doubt, but everything worked out for Lucas and Fox in the end.Star Warsbecame the biggest hit of 1977, and Hollywood was simply never the same.
