When Daisy Ridley was cast in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, she was a complete unknown. Her highest-profile work had been shooting a scene for The Inbetweeners 2 that ended up on the cutting room floor. Now that she’s starred as Rey in the sequel trilogy, she’s one of the biggest stars in the world. Adam Driver was more famous than Ridley when he was cast as Kylo Ren, but he was still really only known for HBO’s Girls. BlacKkKlansman, Marriage Story, and Logan Lucky all came after Star Wars.
While Ridley and Driver ended up having the perfect chemistry to portray Rey and Ben Solo’s Force dyad, they weren’t the only actors considered for the roles.
Rey: Billie Lourd
When Carrie Fisher was asked to do a Star Wars sequel trilogy, her first request was for a role to be given to her daughter, Billie Lourd. Lourd auditioned to play Rey, but ended up playing Lieutenant Connix instead.
If Lourd had played Rey, then the producers might have felt inclined to make her Leia’s daughter and the storyline could’ve played out very differently.
Kylo Ren: Michael Fassbender
Early in the development of The Force Awakens’ script, the villain was referred to as “Jedi Killer” and he was conceived to be much older, so J.J. Abrams initially considered seasoned actors for the part. One of his top choices for this incarnation of the role was Michael Fassbender, who previously played the villainous Magneto in the X-Men prequel series.
Fassbender hasn’t taken part in a lot of big-budget blockbusters – tending to stick to smaller indie fare like Shame and A Dangerous Method – but he did get his big break in 300 and also starred in a failed attempt at launching a live-action Assassin’s Creed movie franchise.
Rey: Jennifer Lawrence
When the producers of the Star Wars saga decided that the sequel trilogy would have a female lead, one of the first actors they considered for the part was Jennifer Lawrence.
This is hardly surprising. Lawrence has been hailed as one of the greatest actors working today, appearing in both cerebral gems like Winter’s Bone and mother! and big-budget blockbusters like The Hunger Games franchise and the most recent X-Men movies.
Kylo Ren: Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne auditioned for the role of Kylo Ren, but claims that he blew his audition. When he found out the role was a bad guy, he started putting on a bunch of weird voices, similar to his character in Jupiter Ascending.
Things worked out for Redmayne, though, because not landing Star Wars meant that he was free when Warner Bros. was looking for someone to play Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
Rey: Elizabeth Olsen
The Star Wars producers considered Elizabeth Olsen for the role of Rey and offered her the chance to audition for the part. However, she turned down the audition, because she’d already signed on to a multi-movie contract with Marvel Studios to play Scarlet Witch in the MCU.
This was probably for the best, because Daisy Ridley apparently hasn’t had any offers since The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters and Olsen’s Marvel contract has given her a starring role in a Disney+ series.
Kylo Ren: Hugo Weaving
It seems like a prerequisite for Hugo Weaving to be offered any villainous role that shows up in a sci-fi blockbuster. He played Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy, Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger, and V in V for Vendetta.
When The Force Awakens was in development, Weaving was one of the actors considered to play the villain, possibly before he was made into Han and Leia’s son.
Rey: Shailene Woodley
Shailene Woodley was on the shortlist of established actors considered for the role of Rey before the producers decided to find an unknown for the part. Woodley ended up starring in a different sci-fi franchise, Divergent, that was far less successful than Star Wars.
Still, she’s made a name for herself with starring roles in acclaimed movies like Adrift, The Spectacular Now, and The Fault in Our Stars.
Kylo Ren: Christoph Waltz
Ever since he got his big break with an Oscar-winning turn as a sinister S.S. colonel in Inglourious Basterds, Christoph Waltz has been considered for just about every villainous role in Hollywood blockbusters – including Kylo Ren.
Waltz must’ve been considered for the role early in development when the character was still called “Jedi Killer,” because there’s no way he could’ve convincingly played the son of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
Rey: Saoirse Ronan
Before leading roles in Greta Gerwig’s first solo directorial efforts Lady Bird and Little Women would make her one of the biggest stars in the world, Saoirse Ronan did an unsuccessful audition for the role of Rey in the Star Wars sequels. She also auditioned for Wanda Maximoff in the MCU around the same time, and didn’t land that one, either.
Jessica Henwick, Maisie Richardson, and Evan Rachel Wood all auditioned for the part, too. Henwick and Richardson went on to play Jessika Pava and Korr Sella, respectively, instead.