We finally have confirmation from Matt Smith on Star Wars cancelled role in The Rise of Skywalker. Remember the rumors that Matt Smith was cast in the movie? It was quite early on within the production and then it seemed to just not be the case any longer. Anyone who saw the movie knows Smith never showed up. Fans then began to speculate, had Smith originally been Ochi before they decided to go alien? Was Smith actually playing one of the young Clones of Palpatine at one point? Was he Palpatine’s son, the father of Rey, who originally had a bigger role? Or were we getting some kind of Palpatine flashback? Or, was it just a bad rumor?

The overall truth, is something we may never know However when Smith recently chatted with Happy Sad Confused Podcast he did confirm he was at one point in talks for a role in the movie. That role was cut and Smith never actually filmed anything for the movie. Check it out below for yourself or read the transcript afterwards. Full Interview available only on the Patreon as its says in the post below.

Remember those reports that Matt Smith was going to be in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER? He told me his role was a big deal, representing “a big shift in the history of the [STAR WARS] franchise.”

WHO WAS HE GOING TO PLAY?!

Full video chat at https://t.co/e84WokCDhq pic.twitter.com/JGKiwPSba9

— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) November 3, 2021

Rough Transcript

“No, I didnt… We were close to me being in it but then it just never ever quite happened… I think the thing they were thinking of before eventually the part became, y’know, it became obsolete and they didn’t need it and so I never got to be in Star Wars.”

The suggestion of Palpatine’s son was mentioned to which Smith simply smirked and said he, “could not possibly say.”

When further pressed on what his role was Smith said:

“It was a pretty groovy thing, like it was a really groovy part and concept… It was a big thing. Yeah, it was like a big story detail, like a, you know, transformative Star Wars story detail. It never quite got over the line.” 

Later saying it would represent,

“A big shift in the history of the [Star Wars] franchise. Maybe I can come back, you never know.”

Smith then pondered that for a moment “God, to come back as that guy” then did some weird thing with his hand we can’t quite see as his internet wasn’t wonderful.

RELATED: Obscure Star Wars Fan Debate Settled By New Novel

It’s not clear which of the options fans speculated upon is the truth. The most obvious guesses for me, are either Palpatine’s son, and/or possibly a young Palp clone. This definitely was not a character from the scrapped ‘Duel of the Fates’ script that I can spot. It feels like this casting was closer to the actual start of the movie after Abrams came back on board. We know there was no plan to bring back Palpatine until Abrams return and we know Ian McDiarmid found out the day they called him and asked him to appear.

Then again, perhaps this was one of Abrams earlier ideas pre-Palpatine. I always felt like the decision was the popular meme at the time, ‘in case of emergency, bring back Palpatine. Though I have heard tale of another rumor which could be an outside bet. I heard one idea was to go with the Mortis brother from The Clone Wars show and tie things up in terms of the Dark Side. However, I never found any solid evidence that rumor should be listened to and ultimately, whilst it may be intriguing, it remains the least likely answer.

Maybe one day it will all come out, but for it seems like Smith still has a hope that character can be revisited. It has to have been a villainous character for me, so my bet is young Cloned Palp.

What do you think of Matt Smith on Star Wars cancelled role in The Rise of Skywalker? Speculate below.

  FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube! Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts |  Spotify |  SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play