With the majority of the main cast for JJ Abrams Star Wars Episode VII cast now announced, and ongoing talks looking to put the final pieces in place - like bringing in Tom Cruise apparently, presumably for some unGodly alien threat beyond the realms of even the most depraved imagination - now is the perfect time to consider another of those pressing What If questions. We've already looked back at the alternative castings that almost happened for the Avengers, the X-Men and iconic characters like The Joker and Batman, so it seems like a travesty that we've so far mostly ignored arguably the biggest and most important franchise in the history of modern cinema. But no more. As Abrams looks to put the final star names on his bill, we're looking to a galaxy far, far away in another dimension entirely where some of the big names and terrible choices who were initially linked with roles in George Lucas' billion dollar franchise actually got the part. In most cases, these near misses were clearly a good thing - for all of Lucas' mistakes, he actually cast pretty well, aside from Hayden Christensen - but others suggest an alternate version of the Star Wars franchise that could possibly have been even more engaging. But then, Christopher Walken and Gary Oldman would have that impact on any film franchise...
21. Sylvester Stallone Was Almost Han Solo
In the grand history of cinema, there are a number of times Sly Stallone has saved the world's audiences from what would surely have been ruinous performances in key films, and other times the fates conspired to keep those roles from happening. He was very nearly the lead in Beverly Hills Cop, he almost starred opposite Arnie in Face/Off and he almost directed Godfather Part III among many many others, but the worst possible near-miss came with Han Solo, a role Stallone has said he was up for. When asked if he had responded to the casting call before he made it big with Rocky, Stallone answered positively:
Yes as a matter of fact I did and it didnt meet with much approval since when I stood in front of George Lucas he didnt look at me once. Well, obviously Im not the right type... all worked out for the best since I dont look good in spandex holding a ray gun.