Matt Smith Was Set To Have A Big Part In ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

From Doctor Who to a scrapped role in a galaxy far, far away.

Matt Smith Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

Matt Smith was set to play a “big part’ in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that would have transformed the franchise forever.

Early rumors for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker suggested that Matt Smith would be playing a key role in the franchise’s final episodic film. When the film debuted in the December of 2019, the Doctor Who star was nowhere to be found. It turns out that those early rumors were, in fact, true, but his appearance never manifested.

Speaking with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Smith broke down exactly how his supposedly huge role in the film never worked out. Smith took multiple meetings for the film but he never ended up shooting footage, let alone going in for costume fittings. During those meetings, Smith was made aware that his role would have been “big”.

When asked if Matt Smith was set to play Emperor Palpatine’s son – another rumor that persisted in the early days of the Star Wars film’s production, Smith remained passive and said he couldn’t divulge details.

“I could not possibly say. 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.”

Matt Smith another juicy tidbit, revealing that his role would have been “a big shift in the history of the franchise.”

It’s hard to speculate what this The Rise of Skywalker role could have been but it’s possible that details will be revealed as time goes on. Seeing as the final entry in the Skywalker saga was met with lackluster reception, it’s entirely possible that Matt Smith’s “big shift” could be revisited in the future.

Here is the official synopsis for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:

Lucasfilm and director J. J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.

Directed by J. J. Abrams, the film stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. The late Carrie Fisher appears as General Leia Organa by using previously unreleased footage shot for The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available on Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the franchise’s future, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content!

Source: Happy Sad Confused