Burt Reynolds Turned Down A Major Star Wars Role (And Regretted It)

George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" became a bigger success than anyone could have possibly predicted upon its premiere in 1977. Lucas' space adventure movie dug deeply into the public consciousness, and its many sequels and spin-offs have been a regular feature in popular culture ever since. It also came during a decade when American filmmakers were churning out aggressively bleak movies. Even Lucas' career-launching 1971 film "THX 1138" was cynical.

"Star Wars," then, might have gained its cultural traction by being an antidote. It told a simple story about the brave, plucky Rebels blowing up the evil Empire's super-weapon, the Death Star, and argued that there is a powerful Force in the universe that binds all living things. When push comes to shove, then, the film's initial success can be attributed to it being less "serious" than other films at the time. Rather, it was raucous, adventurous fun reminiscent of 1940s sci-fi serials.

Audiences were clearly in the mood for something light, too, seeing as the second highest-grossing box office hit of 1977 was Hal Needham's breezy, booze-loving car chase movie "Smokey and the Bandit," which hit theaters about two months later. The film starred Burt Reynolds as the titular Bandit, a fun-loving, devil-may-care race car driver who has to aid in the smuggling of beer into a dry county. A double feature of "Star Wars" and "Smokey" would be a wild afternoon in 1977.

As many may know, Reynolds actually auditioned for the "Star Wars" role of Han Solo, a space smuggler who isn't all that unlike Smokey. He turned the part down, however, clearing the way for Harrison Ford to take his place. It was only later, in a 2016 interview with Business Insider, that Reynolds admitted that he regretted his decision.

It should be noted that Burt Reynolds was already a huge star in 1977. His performance in 1972's "Deliverance" is intense and impressive, his 1974 film "The Longest Yard" was a huge success, and he had already made his directorial debut with the "White Lightning" sequel "Gator." If George Lucas had cast Reynolds as Han Solo, he would have provided "Star Wars'" with lots of star power. Harrison Ford, meanwhile, was still a rising star at the time, though he had already racked up an impressive body of work that included Michelangelo Antonioni's arthouse darling "Zabriskie Point," Lucas' own hit 1973 movie "American Graffiti," and Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation."

Why did Reynolds turn down the role of Han Solo? Well, we can already see that he didn't need it, but it seems "Smokey and the Bandit" was simply more appealing to him at the time. As he put it:

"I just didn't want to play that kind of role at the time. [...] Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it." 

And he could have. Both Ford and Reynolds were excellent at playing handsome, charming rogues, so the latter would not have felt out of place as a charismatic smuggler on the run from the law. Indeed, we could draw further parallels by noting that Han Solo's Wookiee sidekick Chewbacca (Peter Mahew) is essentially a sci-fi version of Snowman, Jerry Reed's character from "Smokey and the Bandit," while Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is the "Star Wars" equivalent of Carrie (Sally Field) from "Smokey." Really, the two films aren't all that dissimilar. They even feature the '70s' two most recognizable film villains: Darth Vader (David Prowse) and Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason).

Of course, many might already be aware of Burt Reynolds' "audition" for "Star Wars" via a "Saturday Night Live" skit where Norm McDonald played Reynolds doing a screen test for the role of Darth Vader. (To better understand the character, Reynolds asks what kind of car Darth Vader drives.) Other actors auditioned for Han Solo for real, though, including Kurt Russell (whose audition video has been leaked to the public) and even then-future "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer. The list goes on and on, too, as it seems that "Star Wars" was the new hotness around town in the mid-to-late-1970s.

Of course, all of the now-famous actors who tried out for Han Solo have nothing to regret. After all, they each went on to be successful in other things, Reynolds included. In point of fact: If giving up "Star Wars" meant that Reynolds could then go on to star in "Smokey and the Bandit" instead, that's not a bad trade-off. Far from it, both "Star Wars" and "Smokey and the Bandit" spawned multiple direct sequels and even some TV projects. They also inspired piles of imitators, with the former giving rise to all manner of strange "Star Wars" knock-offs and "Smokey and the Bandit" leading to a surge in late-'70s and early '80s car chase pictures. 

The only difference is that the "Star Wars" franchise has brought in a tad more money than the "Smokey and the Bandit" property on the whole. There's no "Smokey and the Bandit: The Rise of Justice" ride at Disneyland. Well, at least not yet.