Christopher Walken RecallsStar WarsAudition for Han Solo Role Opposite Jodie Foster as Princess Leia

Mar. 15, 2025

Christopher Walken circa 1970 and Jodie Foster circa 1977.Photo:Art Zelin/Getty; Sophia MORIZET/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

Art Zelin/Getty; Sophia MORIZET/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

Christopher Walkenis reminding fans all the waysStar Warscould have looked different.

In an interview withVanity Fairabout Walken’s new movieDune: Part Two, theOscar-winning actor, now 80, recalled that he auditioned to play one of the leads inGeorge Lucas' original space opera back in 1975, two years prior to the release of 1977’sStar Wars, also known asEpisode IV: A New Hope.

“I think it was for Han Solo,” Walken said. “Yes, I auditioned for it. And if I’m not mistaken, my partner in the audition was — I think this is true — it wasJodie Foster.”

The actor recalled he and Foster “did a screen test” rather than a full scene from the movie’s script.

Foster, now 61, was just beginning to shoot to stardom as a teen in the ’70s for performances in movies likeAlice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore(1974) andTaxi Driver(1976), the latter of which marked her first Oscar nomination.

“Maybe we just sat in front of, in those days, those old videotape cameras,” Walken recalled to the outlet. “We might have just sat there and did the name, rank and serial number type of thing.”

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as Han Solo in ‘STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE’, 1977.Allstar Picture Library Limited. / Alamy

Allstar Picture Library Limited. / Alamy

Harrison FordandCarrie Fisherfamously landedthe leadStar Warsroles as Han Solo and Princess Leia. Combined withMark Hamill, the trio led the original threeStar Warsmovies, released between 1977 and 1983. All three actors reprised their roles in the sequel films released in the 2010s, as well.

“I would say that, yes, I did audition forStar Wars, but so did about 500 other actors,” Walken said. “It was lots of people doing that.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Foster recently mentioned she turned down an opportunity to play Princess Leia during a January appearance onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

The star saidStar Warsinitially wanted a younger actress to play the role — Fisher, whodied in 2016at age 60, was roughly 20 when the movie was filmed — but it conflicted with a different film on her schedule.

Christopher Walken on Feb. 25, 2024.Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

“I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out because I was already under contract,” she said at the time. “So I didn’t do it and, you know, they did an amazing job."

Dune: Part Twois in theaters now.

source: people.com