The Tom Hanks Star Wars Villain We Nearly Got
When Star Wars was released in 1977, George Lucas thought it would be a colossal failure. He was so nervous about the premiere that he took off to Hawaii on vacation with his pal, Steven Speilberg, to avoid what he expected to be a weekend of bad box office numbers. As it turns out, not only was the movie a hit, it became the highest-grossing film of all time (beating Speilberg’s Jaws) and went on to become a mega-franchise attracting many of the world’s most famous actors, including Tom Hanks, who almost appeared as a stormtrooper in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Tom Hanks Wanted To Be A Storm Trooper
In a recent revelation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, legendary actor Tom Hanks disclosed that he was on the verge of stepping into the iconic Star Wars universe. However, his cameo in the Galaxy Far Far Away never materialized due to scheduling conflicts.
Ron Howard, known for directing Tom Hanks in films like Splash and Apollo 13, extended the invitation to Hanks to portray a stormtrooper in the Star Wars standalone film. Hanks expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity, stating, “I would have done that,” unfortunately, he couldn’t align his schedule with the production timeline.
Tom Hanks Hasn’t Done A Lot OF Sci-Fi
Tom Hanks got his big Hollywood break in 1988, more than 10 years after Lucas took a chance and made his now iconic sci-fi adventure. Hanks would star in many successful feature films, including touchstone features like Forest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Castaway, and The Green Mile. While the actor has jumped genres from drama to action to romance and everything in between (including animation as Woody in Toy Story), he’s never been the type of actor to appear in sci-fi franchises like Star Wars.
Hanks Would Have Joined Other Big-Name Stormtroopers
But a Tom Hanks cameo in Solo would have been cool to see. Over the decades, Star Wars has attracted many big names to play a part in George Lucas’ space opera, including Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy, and Kevin Smith, who donned the iconic white armor of stormtroopers. The anonymity provided by the stormtrooper attire has made it a popular avenue for celebrity cameos within the Star Wars universe.
Celebrity Cameos Are A New Addition To Star Wars
When the franchise started, Star Wars featured almost an entire cast of lesser-known talents who later rose to fame. But while bigger names like Daniel Craig and what would have been Tom Hanks are hiding behind their stormtrooper masks, it’s evident that Star Wars has increasingly featured established actors in its newer installments. For instance, The Force Awakens introduced lesser-known Daisy Ridley alongside seasoned performers like Adam Driver and Lupita Nyong’o.
Tom Hanks Would Have Been A Fun Addition To Solo
Meanwhile, Solo: A Star Wars Story, the film in which Tom Hanks was slated to cameo, boasted a cast that included Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, and Donald Glover, all of whom were established talents at the time of filming.
While Tom Hanks in a white stormtrooper suit is not something we ever thought was a possibility, it’s nice to know there’s a parallel universe somewhere where the Sleepless in Seattle star has also fired a blaster rifle. And the opportunity for that to happen in this universe isn’t lost. With more Star Wars movies on the horizon, perhaps Hanks and Lucasfilm can find a way to line up their schedules for a cameo sometime in the future.
Source: Sad Happy Confused
