Mark Hamill took to Twitter this weekend to blow our collective mind. The Star Wars alum spilled the beans on the other potential universe we could have had and we’re just “Walken” away from that one. Meanwhile, other users dug through the annals of the site to find a fan prediction from 2020. The Nostradamus-like user accurately called Ahmed Best’s return to the ‘verse as the Jedi savior of young Grogu – a prediction so accurate that folks are now convinced they’ve found an actual prophet. In another corner of the internet, Reddit users are fighting for Finn to get his own redux. After the studio’s treatment of the actor, it’s hard to argue that both Boyega and his character Finn deserve better.
#NotmyHanSolo
Even after all these years there are still juicy morsels of trivia that even the most die-hard Star Wars fan hasn’t heard before. Over the weekend, the one and only Mark Hamill spilled the beans over the other trio of heroes fans could have had, and it changes the picture of the galaxy far more than could be believed. We’re talking Darth-Vader-sounding-like-actor-David-Prowse levels of different here.
While the fan was only interested in confirming that Perry Mason star William Katt had been in the running for Luke, Hamill also shared Christopher Walken as roguish Han Solo and Terri Nunn as the indomitable Princess Leia. We can see Walken playing a decent version of the dashing Solo, but it’s much harder to picture Berlin vocalist Nunn as our lady-in-white, Leia. While it’s always fun to imagine a world that could have been, we’d like to keep the Galaxy just the way it is, thanks.
Fans rally behind a John Boyega return
As usual, fans are trying to solve all of the Galaxy’s problems. The current Reddit debate is focused around the missed opportunities for Finn, and users seem to agree that Disney screwed the pooch on the former Storm Trooper’s story line. Plenty of fans felt as though Finn would have been a better character for the sequels to follow and many agreed that his potential in The Force Awakens was there, but grossly underutilized. In a tale now old as time, Disney failed to stand up for its dedicated actors and the characters the company itself created, relegating Finn to the sidelines and sweeping aside his potential stuffed backstory in favor of a romance nobody asked for and a few lackluster jokes.
Fan discourse echoes criticism Boyega has levelled at Disney many times since his departure from the galaxy far, far away. With rumors that the newest installment of the Star Wars franchise could be centered around a person of color — one established during the sequel trilogy — we would be remiss if we didn’t wish Boyega/Finn the redemption arc he deserved. Even then we’d hesitate with that phrasing, redemption implies that Boyega did something wrong, and just like with Ahmed Best’s return, we’d like to think that it’s toxic fans who need the redemption arc.
Fans convinced Filoni and Favreau stole the idea for Ahmed Best’s cameo from Twitter
Speaking of Best, another Twitter user called the Jar Jar actor’s cameo back in 2020 during the second season of the show. Fan reactions to the prediction ranged from incredulity to joy as they flocked like tourists to the original message. Memes spawned left and right about the user’s incredible Nostradamus-like abilities, and many couldn’t help but speculate that Star Wars writers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau must have stolen the idea. As usual, some of the best comedians are working for free on the internet, and the comments are more than worth a quick perusal while waiting in line for a morning coffee.
Carrie Fisher sashayed so the rest of us could shoot
In The Mandalorian news, Emily Swallow — the actress behind the enigmatic leader of the Children of the Watch, The Armorer— voiced her awe at following in Carrie Fisher’s footsteps. The iconic Fisher was the only female lead for nearly 20 years, and was followed by another singular female hero with Natalie Portman’s Queen Amidala. Swallow acknowledged Fisher’s herculean task of representing an entire gender and went on to praise the Star Wars ‘verse, saying that the best thing about it is the lack of conformity to gender roles and that, at the end of the day “It’s not remarkable that they are women. They’re just people.”