The Unexpected Reason Leonardo DiCaprio Still Hasn’t Joined Star Wars Makes His Anakin Rejection Even Stranger

Leonardo DiCaprio almost became the guy who turned to the dark side. Yep, he was in the mix to play Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. He loves those movies, he grew up on them, and still... he walked away. Twice, actually, if you count his brush with Batman Forever. Here is how it all went down, plus the surprising way he compares his latest movie to a galaxy far, far away.

Leo, Star Wars superfan who still said no to Anakin

DiCaprio has talked plenty about how much Star Wars meant to him growing up. In a recent chat with Konbini, he said he sees clear lines between George Lucas's world and what Paul Thomas Anderson did with his own movie One Battle After Another. Before that comparison came the fan story: as a kid, he saw Star Wars on a later re-release on Hollywood Boulevard with his dad and it blew his mind.

'I remember going to see this in the theater with my father... it just absolutely blew my mind.'

Cut to 2000. Work on Attack of the Clones had kicked off, and DiCaprio was already DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Titanic, and the whole rocket-ship career thing. Of course Lucasfilm came calling. He met with George Lucas. And then he passed.

'I did have a meeting with George Lucas... didn't feel ready to take that dive. At that point.'

That role went to Hayden Christensen, who carried Anakin through the second and third prequels. And honestly, fair enough. If you don't feel ready to be the Chosen One, you probably shouldn't be the Chosen One.

The other big pass: Batman Forever

Years earlier, DiCaprio also met with Joel Schumacher about Batman Forever. There were rumors he screen-tested. He didn't. He took the meeting, decided it wasn't for him, and moved on. Chris O'Donnell ended up as Robin.

'I never screen-tested... It was just one meeting and, no, I didn't end up doing it... Joel Schumacher is a very talented director but I don't think I was ready for anything like that.'

• Anakin Skywalker - Met with George Lucas around the start of Attack of the Clones in 2000; passed because he didn't feel ready. Hayden Christensen took the role.
• Batman Forever - Met with Joel Schumacher; didn't screen-test; opted out. Chris O'Donnell played Robin.

About that Star Wars comparison to his latest movie

DiCaprio keeps drawing parallels between Star Wars and his recent project, One Battle After Another, including some very specific costuming inspiration. Talking to USA Today, he said he wanted wraparound optical glasses for his character - think Boba Fett, but civilian.

'There's the weird Star Wars theme to this movie. I had this vision of these wraparound optical glasses like Boba Fett.'

He went further on The Big Picture podcast, calling the film a layered action story about a father trying to get his daughter back, and saying the Star Wars DNA is baked in. He even connects real-world archetypes to Star Wars staples - Leia, bounty hunters, Yoda, Darth Vader - arguing those ideas show up everywhere outside of sci-fi too.

'There's so much intricate thought put in and layering to what is essentially a sort of action film about a father trying to get back to his daughter. I compared it to Star Wars in a lot of ways... It's holding a mirror up to society.'

His broader point: both Star Wars and One Battle After Another are about rebels pushing back against an oppressive government, a desperate mission to save someone they care about, and relentless evil on their heels. It's a big swing of a comparison, sure, but he makes the case with conviction.