Once upon a time, it was reported that Matt Smith had joined the cast of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. There weren’t many details at the time, only that Smith would be playing a “key role” in the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga. Months before the release of The Rise of Skywalker, Smith said that he was “definitely” not in the film, leading fans to wonder whether his role had ended up on the cutting room floor or if he was ever involved.
While speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Smith confirmed that he was supposed to have a role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at one point, but that the script changed and his character was removed.
We were close to me being in it, but then it just never quite happened. I think the thing they were thinking of before, eventually, the part became obsolete and they didn’t need it. And so I never got to be in Star Wars.
One of the rumours surrounding Matt Smith’s possible Star Wars character was that he was going to be playing Palpatine’s son or clone, but when Horowitz asked Smith whether that was the case, the actor responded by saying that he couldn’t say. “But it was a pretty groovy thing. It was a really groovy part/concept,” Smith said. “It was a big story detail, like a, you know, transformative Star Wars story detail, but it never quite got over the line. It was a big shift in the history of the franchise.” Smith added that he hasn’t gone so far as to have any costume tests for the role, although he did have a couple of meetings about it. Although he sounds a little bummed that he never got to join the Star Wars franchise, the door is open for him to take on another role down the line. “Maybe I can come back,” Smith said. “You never know.“
Matt Smith can currently be seen in Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho. You can check out a review of the film from our own Chris Bumbray right here.