The Surprise Connection Between Star Wars And Top Gun
Normally, you wouldn’t imagine any kind of connection between Star Wars and Top Gun (although that could change if the Patty Jenkins X-Wing movie ever sees the light of day). However, these two very different franchises have something in common that goes back to the recent series Ahsoka.
Specifically, when live-action Sabine actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo sent in her audition tape, it included both a scene from Top Gun as well as a different scene in which she tried to channel Han Solo.
The Secret Ahsoka Audition
Perhaps the weirdest thing about this connection between Star Wars and Top Gun is that the actor didn’t know what she was auditioning for…at least, not exactly. She knew that it was what she described as “a very elusive Jon Favreau-related project.”
Of course, the presence of Favreau could have hinted at a Marvel project as much as a Star Wars project, and the involvement of casting director Sarah Funn (who has helped cast for a number of Marvel projects) made Bordizzo think that this could somehow be related to the MCU.
A Top Gun Scene
Rather than auditioning in person, the future Star Wars: Ahsoka star had to send in a tape, and this is where the weird connection to Top Gun comes in. According to Bordizzo, she was given two scenes to audition with. One of these was a scene from Top Gun, and the actor described playing a male pilot, though she sadly didn’t specify which one.
The other scene had nothing explicitly to do with either Star Wars or Top Gun. Bordizzo herself doesn’t remember exactly what it was from, but she does remember that the scene involved someone else asking her character for help. Rather than being a good Samaritan, though, Bordizzo’s character had to respond with lines like “Hey lady, I’ve got all these problems, so stop bothering me” and “All the work is moving south for the winter.”
Channeling Han Solo
In a weird twist, it seems that the Ahsoka actor may have a stronger Force connection in real life than her onscreen character. She maintains that she had no idea that what she was auditioning for was a Star Wars project, but when she and a friend looked at the dialogue for the second scene, they came to the same conclusion: “It’s almost like a young Han Solo kind of feeling.”
Because of that, she did her best to channel Harrison Ford’s iconic Star Wars character during the audition, and she continuously thought about his performance as Han Solo later on while performing as Sabine Wren.
A Cocky Hotshot
That leaves us with something of a mystery, one that Bordizzo didn’t really volunteer an answer for: why did the secret audition for a Star Wars show involve a scene from Top Gun?
If we had to guess, the casting director and other Disney execs wanted the audition to feature at least one scene that perfectly channeled the vibe of the Sabine character without giving away what the project is. Being a cocky hotshot pilot is a big part of Sabine’s character, so having would-be actors perform a scene from Top Gun was a good way to make sure their final choice brought the right vibe to Ahsoka.
Make The Rogue Sqaudron Movie You Cowards
While Bordizzo’s tale linking Star Wars and Top Gun was very cute and very charming, it mostly left us hoping that Disney gives the green light to Jenkins’ X-Wing movie once her draft is finished.
Sure, lightsaber battles are cool and all, but interstellar dogfights have also been a major part of the Star Wars formula from the very beginning. Finally giving us a feature film focusing on these X-Wing pilots would prove to audiences hungry for a different kind of film that Disney knows how to “stay on target” after the disastrous failure of the Sequel Trilogy.
