Can recasting Star Wars work?

[choptop]

I really don't have any interest in new starwars Characters I just want to see Luke Skywalker Han and the others they recast batman bound and others so why not starwars? Can it work and would you want that as a future move?

[ChrisIII]

The prequels pretty much recast younger versions of everybody from the originals, with the exception of characters who were in old makeup (Ian Mcdiarmid) or droids/creatures.

Same with SOLO but that didn't work as well. A LANDO series featuring Glover and maybe a bit of Billy Dee was considered but seems to be stuck in development hell, and given Disney's issues lately will probably never get made.



As for other reasons, SW sort of has an ongoing continuity that includes all the live-action material (with some exceptions such as the Ewok movies, the Holiday special and some old video game FMVs) so a total reboot/recast is probably not a good idea at this point.

There's precedent with Batman and Bond too. Batman of course, like all comics, can have multiple takes on the material. Although the first 20 Bond films did have a continuity, it was an extremely loose one at best and the changing face and age of the actor was mostly ignored. Even the Craig films sort of pick and chose some stuff from the old continuity to keep with no explanation (Dench's M, the Goldfinger outfitted Aston Martin)

[DrNewGod]

I doubt it could work for the foreseeable future. Some fans are too vested in *their* Luke (Han, etc.). You also have a bit of a challenge in coming up with a story that seems worthy of the OT's iconic stature (most of the last six have struggled with that, plus you'll have the fans that want *their* preferred version of expanded universe plots).

It might need cool off a while before trying it.

[KurtW95]

No. And while it's not a popular opinion, I fully support facial and vocal AI deepfakes with the actors' permissions or permissions of their families. But we'd also have to hope actors whose face and voice are changed are humble enough to accept it. But then again, Park and Prowse get a lot of credit, despite not being the voice of their characters. And not seeing Prowse's face at all.

[Jokerz79]

I loved Rogue One, but Charles Dance would have been better than CGI Tarkin (This is just me fan casting never a real rumor or anything) and if they want to use Luke in any part of the upcoming Thrawn stuff than I support Sebastian Stan being cast.

[babyblob]

I think that recasting would work if the fans allow it. I have no problem with it. The problem is so many fans hold the OT as some sort of scared thing that can not be touched. I say recast them and put them in other movies and projects. There is a world of movies or tv shows that you can do with the OT characters if recast. I know that Solo bombed but I think the right writer could make something enjoyable with the characters.

[BeastieRunner]

I'd be down with a reboot over recast.

Just rather they move on and move forward than keep going backwards.

[Jokerz79]

I'd be down with a reboot over recast.

Just rather they move on and move forward than keep going backwards.

I'd rather they went backwards thousands of years backwards to the Old Republic Era.

[babyblob]

A tv show that follows Darth Sidious through his training would be a lot of fun.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I really don't have any interest in new starwars Characters I just want to see Luke Skywalker Han and the others they recast batman bound and others so why not starwars? Can it work and would you want that as a future move?

I'm the opposite as I'm fine with the new characters/time periods etc. I rather expand beyond the Skywalker saga than have Star Wars be limited to it.

[BeastieRunner]

I'd rather they went backwards thousands of years backwards to the Old Republic Era.

That works too.

[ChrisIII]

That seems to the idea with the upcoming "Dawn of the Jedi" film Mangold is working on, although I'm kind of wondering if Indiana Jones not doing so great has soured Disney a bit on that (There's a rumor that Lucasfilm dropped Colin Tremorrow from Episode 9 because Book of Henry was a big flop, although that's a different case).

There's also High Republic although that's only a few hundred years before and doesn't have the baggage of the Sith-yet. It can use a slightly younger Yoda too.


It's rumored the Acolyte will deal a bit with Plageuis and (maybe) Sidious, as it takes place towards the end of the HR era and will have the Sith start to make the moves which will culminate in Palpatine's ascendance.

[choptop]

I'm the opposite as I'm fine with the new characters/time periods etc. I rather expand beyond the Skywalker saga than have Star Wars be limited to it.

I don't think they have to be limited to anything batman or boud isn't really limited.

[LordMikel]

I'm going to say no, and it is really Disney's own fault. If they had built a great movie with episodes 7,8, and 9, where Luke rebuilt the Jedi Academy, Leia became this powerful leader of the Republic. They were still fighting the Empire and the Empire was slowly losing. There were conflicts that they make in passing during those 20 years, but we never saw and they wanted to go back and show these conflicts and cast younger actors to pick up the mantle during that 20 year gap, sure. I think that would probably have worked.

But nothing like that happened and the stories they would tell for those 20 years would be sad and not something I'd want to watch.

[Ascended]

I think there's pro's and con's to recasting.

For one, you never know if the recast will go over with fans. Folks seemed to embrace Glover's Lando, but not so much Ehrenreich's Han (though I like his performance more with each re-watch).

But using the deepfake, deaging CGI is still expensive, time consuming, and it hasn't fully escaped from the uncanny valley. You can't really hang a whole show or film on it due to those limitations.

And all of that becomes even more complicated, with higher risk of fan pushback, when you're dealing with the original core cast. Want a new actor for Bib Fortuna? Nobody cares. But finding a new Princess Leia to pick up from where Fisher left off, that audiences will get behind? That seems like a Herculean task.

I'm good either way. If we're talking about a minor cameo like what Luke has seen in the Mando shows, or what Tarkin got in Rogue One, then sure, do the cgi stuff. There's a lot of ethical concerns there but as long as the actor or their estate agree? Fine. But if you want a whole story about the OT characters you probably should recast, and just be real careful about who you hire. And I do want whole stories with the OT characters, so as long as the casting is as brilliant as, say, Sebastian Stan for Luke? I'll roll with it.