Jodie Foster Almost Played Princess Leia In Star Wars, But Disney Got In The Way
The Jodie Foster-ssance is officially upon us, folks, and we couldn't be more pleased. It's certainly been a long road to get here. Arguably, the acclaimed actor's most high-profile project in decades came back in 2013, with her villainous turn in Neill Blomkamp's sci-fi movie "Elysium." (Disclaimer: We cannot emphasize enough how much heavy-lifting the word "arguably" is doing in that last sentence.) Other than that, it'd be the understatement of the century to say that Foster has been rather picky about her roles since bursting onto the scene in "Taxi Driver," before going on to redefine the very idea of horror protagonists in "The Silence of the Lambs." That's finally changed in a big way during the last several months, as Foster starred in the awards-hopeful (but somewhat controversial) "Nyad" and also came right out of the gate swinging in 2024 with "True Detective: Night Country."
But as we all know, Hollywood is nothing if not an endless series of what-ifs — and Foster knows this better than most. It's common knowledge that, as one of the industry's biggest up-and-coming talents at the time, she came shockingly close to being cast as Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars." What we didn't know, however, was the exact reason(s) why she ultimately passed on the role of a lifetime. But while making the press rounds promoting this newest season of "True Detective" (which, if you somehow haven't heard, is great – look no further than /Film's review by Chris Evangelista here), Foster opened up during a recent appearance on "The Tonight Show" about what went into taking one of the most pivotal forks in the road ... not that anyone really knew that back then, of course.
In an incredible irony, her prior commitments to a Disney film changed everything.
The roads not taken
I'm a big believer in the idea that things usually happen for a reason, and few could argue that the late, great Carrie Fisher didn't best embody the regality and fiery spirit of Princess Leia. That said, wouldn't it have been wild if Jodie Foster had been cast in the star-making role, instead? That's the question of the day, thanks to Foster's recent quotes on Jimmy Fallon's "The Tonight Show" (via ScreenRant). As any good interviewer would frame it, Fallon brought up Foster's "Star Wars" connections by noting that, "I saw this on the internet." Foster confirmed this (not that it needed any confirming since Fisher previously addressed the casting situation herself) and went a little further, explaining:
"I was, yeah. They were going for a younger Princess Leia, but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn't want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract. So I didn't do it. And they did an amazing job. I don't know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple."
Quips about Princess Leia's iconic "cinnamon buns" hairstyle aside, Foster points to a pretty hilarious coincidence given the Disney of it all. Still decades away from buying Lucasfilm for itself, it turns out that the studio self-sabotaged itself a bit by casting Foster in what was probably either the 1977 movie "Candleshoe" or 1976's "Freaky Friday." Either way, it simply wasn't meant to be (in this universe, at least). That'll teach Disney for not having an impossible sense of clairvoyance about unpredictable future events!
Obviously, Foster's hardly missed a beat. Audiences can enjoy her on the latest season of "True Detective," currently streaming on Max.