What if it were Michael Corleone piloting the Millennium Falcon in George Lucas‘ renowned trilogy back in the day?
Film buffs may already be in the know that Al Pacino was once offered the role of Han Solo in the original Star Wars film released in 1977. Turns out it was an offer he could, in fact, refuse — but why? It’s worth doing a big of digging as the iconic sci-fi movie nears 50 years since its release.
Pacino, 86, wrote about passing on the role — which ultimately went to Harrison Ford — in his memoir Sonny Boy, as Deadline notes, and he shared more with Entertainment Weekly last year.
“I said, ‘I think I’m in the mood to make Harrison Ford a career,'” he joked with the magazine, but later adding, “I was doing a show on Broadway at the time, and they handed me this script, and I thought, I don’t understand.”
Pacino continued, “But 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.'”
After debuting in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Ford, 83, returned as Solo for:
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
But many fans return to the 1977 original as their all-time favorite from the Lucasfilm franchise. And when it comes to official rankings, A New Hope currently sits at No. 21 on Rotten Tomatoes’ list of 300 Best Movies of All Time.