Matt Smith teases his Star Wars role that never was in The Rise of Skywalker

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"It was a big shift in the history of the franchise"

Matt Smith in Last Night in Soho
(Image credit: Universal)

Matt Smith has spoken about the time he was nearly in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – but then the part he was meant to play was cut from the script.

"We were close to me being in it but then it just never quite happened," Smith told the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "I think the thing they were thinking of before, the part… it became obsolete and they didn't need it, so I never got to be in Star Wars. 

When host Josh Horowitz suggested that this character might have been Palpatine's son, Smith responded: "I could not possibly say. But it was a pretty groovy thing, like, it was a really groovy part and concept. It was a big thing, it was like a big story detail, like a transformative Star Wars story detail, but it never quite got over the line… It was a big shift in the history of the franchise."

It sounds like his role was shelved in the very early stages of the movie, though – Smith said that he never did any filming and there was no costume for his mysterious character.

The actor is known for his small-screen roles in Doctor Who and the first two seasons of The Crown, and he's also set to star in the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. 

Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.