Eddie Redmayne wasn’t the only actor who came close to landing a part in Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Michael Fassbender, star of Assassin’s Creed and soon Alien: Covenant, has revealed that he was once in contention for J.J. Abrams’ franchise revival as well.
Chatting to MTV’s Josh Horowitz (via EW), Fassbender confirmed that he initially met with Disney and Lucasfilm brass regarding a vacant part, but scheduling issues meant those talks quickly ground to a halt. Indeed, the actor stopped short of identifying which character he was meeting for, but common logic dictates that, much like Redmayne before him, Fassbender was in early negotiations for the part of General Hux.
[wgtc_youtube video_id=”lUuRffbaYpk”]Domhnall Gleeson ultimately landed the part of the sneering First Order operative, but here, Michael Fassbender reflects on what could have been: “We talked about a role. We had a conversation. I’m pretty sure I was busy doing something else in the summer he was kickstarting that.”
Of course, there’s every chance that the Irish actor was up for an entirely different role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Poe Dameron, perhaps? Or the villainous Kylo Ren? – but whatever the case, it’ll be interesting to discover if Michael Fassbender’s name is tossed back into the proverbial hat in time for Star Wars: Episode IX, presuming those schedules align.
Before all that, the actor can currently be seen in the live-action Assassin’s Creed movie, which has struggled to muster any buzz among critics. Further afield, Fassbender holds not one, but two roles in Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant. Look for that one to slither into theatres on May 19, 2017.