10 Actors Who Turned Down Billion Dollar Movies
4. Rooney Mara - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The Phantom Menace is far from the only Star Wars movie to gross over $1 billion. Aside from all three of the sequel trilogy hitting the mark, and in the case of The Force Awakens doubling it, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also crossed that magical line.
The first cinematic Star Wars spin-off, that acted as something of a prequel leading directly into the opening scenes of A New Hope, was and is still a big deal. Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso led proceedings, but it could have been a lot different.
Rooney Mara, arguably best known for her exceptional stint as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, met Rogue One director Gareth Edwards, but ultimately chose not to read for the part. As she was at the time working six days a week on another film, there was simply no room in her life for a Star Wars lead role.
In her interview with Deadline in 2016, Mara says that whether or not she likes the director is one of the biggest factors in any decisions she makes around roles, and that she did like Edwards after their meeting. Had the film cropped up at another time, it could well have been Rooney Mara that led the team that ultimately sparked the beginning of the rebellion's victory.