The Iconic Role O'Shea Jackson Jr. Lost Out On Before Joining The Obi-Wan Kenobi Series
Filming is currently underway for Ewan McGregor's standalone series reprising his role as the legendary Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, with an incredible cast supporting him. One particular addition to the series is "Straight Outta Compton" and "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" star O'Shea Jackson Jr., who takes his first step into the galaxy from far, far away. As the man himself has revealed, this wasn't his first attempt.
He's not the first one to have missed out in the past. Over the years, several big names have been tried and tested to lend their talents to the "Star Wars" universe, only for it to not pan out. Han Solo could've had the flared nostrils and bellowing voice of Al Pacino. Toshiro Mifune, star of "Hidden Fortress," which inspired "A New Hope," was offered the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi before Alec Guinness took the gig. As it turns out, there was another iconic role that Jackson went for a few years back. Although he didn't end up winning that part, it led him to this new one instead.
O'Shea Jackson lost out to Lando but found a new hope in Obi-Wan
Speaking to Collider this week, Jackson revealed that he did, in fact, audition for Lando Calrissian in "Solo: A Star Wars Story," which went to the "Atlanta" star. "I'm a real big Star Wars fan. I had auditioned for Lando for the Solo film, and when I didn't get it, it crushed me. I was like, "You know what? I quit. I'm going back to being a writer. I'm done," said the actor. Thankfully, the Force was not finished with him just yet, giving him another chance in "Obi-Wan Kenobi." "I was filming Swagger, and my agents were like, 'Yo, we need you free in the next two days, noon.' I'm like, 'All right.' They're like, 'Just listen. You want to take this meeting.'"
Thankfully, the meeting ended with Jackson getting a role in the series which he can't talk about, much to his frustration. "So I took it and it was Deb, Lord Deb. Shout out to Lord Deb. Deborah Chow. She gave me an opportunity of a lifetime and it's a... God, I can't wait to talk about it so bad," admitted Jackson. "I want to talk about it so bad, but I know Mickey probably still has my phone bugged, and I just love my family."
It's a perfectly acceptable response for someone joining one of the biggest franchises in cinema history. You can see just how it'll unfold when "Obi-Wan Kenobi" arrives on Disney+ in 2022.