Hollywood icon Al Pacino has recently reflected on the major Star Wars role he turned down back in 1977 with George Lucas' very first film set in the galaxy far, far away. Although the role of Han Solo was ultimately given to Harrison Ford, Pacino was reportedly offered the role first. Now, Pacino has revealed he was given the script for Star Wars and was allegedly offered a large sum to become the captain of the Millennium Falcon.
As reported by Variety, Pacino recently spoke at The 92nd Street Y, New York where he confirmed Lucasfilm gave him a script for 1977's Star Wars. Likewise, Pacino also claims he was offered quite a bit of money to play Han Solo, presumably before Harrison Ford auditioned for the role:
“Well, I turned down ‘Star Wars.’ When I first came up, I was the new kid on the block, you know what happens when you first become famous. It’s like, ‘Give it to Al.’ They’d give me Queen Elizabeth to play,” Pacino said. “They gave me a script called ‘Star Wars.’ … They offered me so much money. I don’t understand it. I read it. … So I said I couldn’t do it. I gave Harrison Ford a career.”
Hot off the heels of playing Michael Corleone in the first two Godfather films as well as his role in Serpico, Pacino being a frontrunner for the role of Han Solo in the 1970s makes a lot of sense, especially considering the friendship between Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola who wrote and directed the Godfather movies.
