Matt Smith has officially set the record straight on those rumors about him being in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” Yes, he was almost in the movie, and yes, it was going to be a huge role.
In a new interview on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the “Doctor Who” and “The Crown” star confirmed, “We were close to me being in it, but then it just never quite happened.” And he’s just as bummed about it as fans probably are.
So here’s what happened. Smith took multiple meetings to discuss a role in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” but he never actually shot anything for the film. It never even got to the point of a costume fitting. That said, he did get details on the role itself — and it would’ve been “big.”
When Horowitz asked — noting that it was complete conjecture — if Smith would’ve played Emperor Palpatine’s son (thus making him Rey’s father), the actor played coy.
“I could not possibly say,” he replied. “I could not possibly say, but it was a pretty groovy thing. Like, it was a really groovy part and concept. It was a big thing. Pretty big — it was like a big story detail, like a transformative ‘Star Wars’ story detail. But it never quite got over the line.”
Smith added that the role would’ve been a big “shift in the history of the franchise.”
Thankfully, Smith is still doing just fine when it comes to other major franchises. Since his turn on “Doctor Who,” the actor has appeared in a “Terminator” film and “The Crown.” In 2022, he’s set to star in both Sony’s “Morbius” and the “Game of Thrones” prequel series, “House of the Dragon.”
You can watch Smith’s full recount of his brush with “Star Wars” in the video below.