Dune 2 star Christopher Walken recalls auditioning for Han Solo in Star Wars, opposite Jodie Foster's Princess Leia

Christopher Walken in Dune 2 — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Dune: Part Two star Christopher Walken has recalled auditioning for Han Solo in Star Wars – opposite Jodie Foster's Princess Leia.

Of course, the roles ultimately went to Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, though Walken's role as the Emperor in Dune 2 means he's finally had the chance to join a massive sci-fi universe.

"I think it was for Han Solo,” Walken told Vanity Fair. "Yes, I auditioned for it. And if I'm not mistaken, my partner in the audition was – I think this is true – it was Jodie Foster."

The duo even spent some time on screen together. "I think we did a screen test. I'm not sure we did a scene. Maybe we just sat in front of, in those days, those old videotape cameras," Walken commented. "We might have just sat there and did the name, rank, and serial number type of thing. I would say that, Yes, I did audition for Star Wars, but so did about 500 other actors. It was lots of people doing that."

Walken, though, holds no hard feelings. "I mean, I auditioned for Love Story, for Star Wars. But it's probably just as well that I didn't get either one of them," he added.

In Dune 2, Walken plays the stately Emperor Shaddam IV, father of Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan. Other newcomers to the cast include Austin Butler and Léa Seydoux, while Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Javier Bardem, and more return to their roles from the first Dune movie.

Dune: Part Two is in theaters now. For more, check out our deep dives on:

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I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.