Charlie Hunnam came close to playing Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

The role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones was highly coveted, and although Hayden Christiansen won the part, many other young actors tried out for it, including Charlie Hunnam.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Charlie Hunnam revealed that he got far enough along in the process to actually meet with George Lucas, but that meeting didn’t exactly fill him with confidence. “I got to the point where I was meeting George Lucas, you know?” Hunnam said. “Which…I don’t think he meets a lot of actors. I think it was probably, maybe, two to three actors they were considering. I don’t remember much about it.” Hunnam continued, “I just remember it being a very awkward meeting and walking out and thinking, ‘Well, I’m definitely not [getting the] role.’ And I was correct. Sometimes it’s about the vibes.“

Over twenty years later, Charlie Hunnam finally got the chance to live out a few of those Star Wars dreams by starring in Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon. The sci-fi epic, which was originally pitched as a Star Wars movie, finds Hunnam playing Kai, a mercenary and starship pilot hired by Kora (Sofia Boutella).

Here’s the official logline for Rebel Moon: “When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.“

Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire will be released on Netflix on December 22nd, followed by Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver on April 19, 2024. You can check out a review of Rebel Moon by our own Chris Bumbray right here.

Do you think Charlie Hunnam would have made a good Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars?