Matt Smith Is Not In ‘Star Wars: Episode 9’, Says Matt Smith
Last year, Variety reported that formerDoctor WhoandThe CrownactorMatt Smithhadjoined the castofJ.J. Abrams’Star Wars: Episode 9in a “key role.” But Smith was never included in any of the official Lucasfilm press releases about the final Skywalker saga movie, and now the English actor has denied that he’s involved with the sci-fi sequel. Read his comments below.
Smith sat down withThe L.A. Timesfor an article that largely focused on several of his other projects, but there’s a brief aside in which the writer outright says that Smith is not in the upcomingStar Warsmovie and provides a quote from the actor himself:
“As far as I can tell, I’m definitely not.”
Again, Lucasfilm never confirmed Smith was involved in the first place, so it makes sense that he’s not in the new movie after all. There are any number of reasons for something like this: negotiations could have fallen through, his potential role could have been written out of the movie during a rewrite, etc. At first, we were wondering if maybe Smith was in contention for the part that ended up going toRichard E. Grantsince they’re both tall English actors, but Grant had already been confirmed when Variety’s initial report about Smith came out, so that theory is busted.
But this is aStar Warsmovie, and one directed by the master of secrecy J.J. Abrams. If Abrams hadn’t openly lied about Benedict Cumberbatch’s role as Khan inStar Trek Into Darkness, I’d gladly take all of these announcements at face value, but I have to admit there’s a tiny part of me that’s justslightlysuspicious. I suppose there’s an infinitesimally small chance that Smith might still be in this movie, possibly as some sort of surprise reveal. That could explain Lucasfilm not putting him on the official cast list.
Ultimately, I believe Smith when he says he’s not in the film. Abrams has never gone so far into the mystery box that he’s orchestrated an elaborate effort to convince the audience that an actor isn’t in a movie, and I don’t think he’d start now. Mostly. Let’s just say that whenDecember 20, 2019rolls around and if Matt Smith pops up in one scene as a potential new franchise villain or something, I won’t gasp aloud in the theater. But to preserve what remains of all of our sanities, let’s all assume the actor is telling the truth.
