Strange as it may seem, after the release of Star Wars in 1977, famed director George Lucas retroactively decided that it would be the fourth installment in the series. As a result, audiences would have to wait more than two decades to see the events that occurred before the original movie.
He wouldn’t fill in the backstory of Anakin turning to the dark side and Palpatine bringing down the Jedi Order until he made the prequel trilogy a couple of decades later. If Lucas had started with Episode I back in the ‘70s, he might’ve chosen these New Hollywood-era icons.
Marlon Brando As Palpatine
Marlon Brando’s collaborations with Francis Ford Coppola made him a bigger star than ever in the 1970s, and he would’ve been perfect for the role of Palpatine in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He deftly conveyed a hard-earned sense of power as Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
The role of Palpatine required switching between a nefarious Sith Lord and his friendly politician facade. Brando played a sinister villain in Apocalypse Now and a wise father figure in Superman, and he could’ve combined the dimensions of those performances to play the future Emperor.
Bruce Lee As Darth Maul
George Lucas stepped up to the challenge of following up Darth Vader with a new villain by creating a Sith Lord with their own unique fighting style. Aside from looking like the Devil and saying next to nothing throughout the whole movie, what made Darth Maul an intimidating presence were his unparalleled skills as a martial artist.
In 1999, the role was played by Ray Park, but, in the 1970s, it could’ve been played by Bruce Lee. With action-packed starring vehicles like Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon, Lee kickstarted a trend of martial arts movies in the ‘70s.
Harvey Keitel As Obi-Wan Kenobi
In Martin Scorsese’s 1973 breakout hit Mean Streets, Robert De Niro played a reckless young gangster and Harvey Keitel played the wise older mentor tasked with keeping him in check. This dynamic is comparable to Anakin and Obi-Wan; a volatile, unhinged youngster and the colleague who thinks of him as a brother and futilely watches his back. Keitel could’ve brought genuine intensity to the role of Obi-Wan.
Faye Dunaway As Padmé Amidala
There are a bunch of ‘70s stars that could’ve played the female lead in the Star Wars prequels. Sigourney Weaver broke new ground for female action heroes with her starring turn in 1979’s Alien. Diane Keaton could’ve combined the pathos of The Godfather with the goofiness of Annie Hall in the role of Padmé.
Bringing the same fierce conviction she brought to her Oscar-winning turn in Network, Faye Dunaway could’ve been a perfect choice for the future mother of Luke and Leia–a monarch who fights on the frontlines with her troops.
Sean Connery As Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon only appears in the first chapter of the prequel trilogy, but he left a lasting impression on Star Wars fans. If the prequels were made in the ‘70s, Sean Connery could’ve played a wise middle-aged Jedi in the surreal, experimental, post-James Bond, Zardoz era of his career.
George Lucas ended up casting Connery as a different father figure in a different franchise, that being Indy’s estranged dad Henry, Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade–and he nailed it.
Yaphet Kotto As Mace Windu
Nobody could replace Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, but he didn’t become a well-known star until the 1990s with roles in Goodfellas, Jurassic Park, and Pulp Fiction. If the prequels were being made in the ‘70s, the casting team might’ve picked Yaphet Kotto for the role.
Kotto was always engaging and likable, whether he was playing a hero—like Parker in Alien—or a villain—like Mr. Big in Live and Let Die—so he could’ve knocked the role of Yoda’s stern-faced right-hand man out of the park.
Jack Nicholson As Count Dooku
The role of Count Dooku requires an actor with serious menace, but also one who can have fun with line deliveries like, “twice the pride, double the fall.” Christopher Lee, of course, nailed it, bringing plenty of pathos to Dooku while also leaning into his hammed-up Hammer horror sensibility.
While Lee himself would’ve been around to play Dooku in the ‘70s, the part could’ve gone to Jack Nicholson. Nicholson made his name playing morally ambiguous roles like Jake Gittes in Chinatown, Buddusky in The Last Detail, and Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Andy Kaufman As Jar Jar Binks
Conceived as the comic relief of the prequel trilogy, Jar Jar Binks instantly became one of the most polarizing characters in the Star Wars universe. Ahmed Best did a fantastic job of playing the character as written, and Jar Jar’s target audience of children fell in love with him.
In the 1970s, Lucas might’ve aimed for a more offbeat, tongue-in-cheek portrayal of Jar Jar. The perfect performer for that would’ve been Andy Kaufman, whose peculiar brand of anti-comedy entered the mainstream with his stint on Taxi in the ‘70s.
Clint Eastwood As Jango Fett
Both Boba Fett and his father Jango were inspired by the ice-cool gunslinging antiheroes of classic spaghetti westerns. Jango is even named after the title character in Sergio Corbucci’s Django—albeit without the silent D. The quintessential spaghetti western antihero is Clint Eastwood, who played the mysterious “Man with No Name” in Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy. Eastwood would’ve made an ideal ‘70s-era Fett.
Al Pacino As Anakin Skywalker
In The Godfather trilogy, Al Pacino plays a wayward kid with a bright future who is gradually corrupted until his unfortunate circumstances turn him into a remorseless monster. This is the same kind of tragic arc that Anakin Skywalker follows in the Star Wars prequels.
Since The Godfather made Pacino one of the most revered and recognizable actors in the world, Lucas could’ve cast him as Anakin to ensure that a ‘70s-era prequel trilogy would be a hit.