I’m a big believer in the idea that things usually happen for a reason, and few could argue that the late, great Carrie Fisher didn’t best embody the regality and fiery spirit of Princess Leia. That said, wouldn’t it have been wild if Jodie Foster had been cast in the star-making role, instead? That’s the question of the day, thanks to Foster’s recent quotes on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” (via ScreenRant). As any good interviewer would frame it, Fallon brought up Foster’s “Star Wars” connections by noting that, “I saw this on the internet.” Foster confirmed this (not that it needed any confirming since Fisher previously addressed the casting situation herself) and went a little further, explaining:
“I was, yeah. They were going for a younger Princess Leia, but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract. So I didn’t do it. And they did an amazing job. I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple.”
Quips about Princess Leia’s iconic “cinnamon buns” hairstyle aside, Foster points to a pretty hilarious coincidence given the Disney of it all. Still decades away from buying Lucasfilm for itself, it turns out that the studio self-sabotaged itself a bit by casting Foster in what was probably either the 1977 movie “Candleshoe” or 1976’s “Freaky Friday.” Either way, it simply wasn’t meant to be (in this universe, at least). That’ll teach Disney for not having an impossible sense of clairvoyance about unpredictable future events!
Obviously, Foster’s hardly missed a beat. Audiences can enjoy her on the latest season of “True Detective,” currently streaming on Max.