Star Wars fans know there is a lot of “could have been” castings for the famous saga. Yet, one, in particular, would have changed two huge franchises.
Tom Holland is now opening up on how he “blew” his audition to play Finn in The Force Awakens and that it changed his career forever.
Spidey as Finn?
Back in 2013, Holland was coming off his breakout role in the Naomi Watts drama The Impossible. This led to him being one of the hundreds of actors auditioning for the role of Finn in The Force Awakens.
At that point in time, the full script for the Star Wars sequel hadn’t even been completed, but writer/director JJ Abrams had the outline for a stormtrooper who switches sides to aid the Resistance.
Abrams saw a wide range of young actors as he wanted a relative unknown in the part. This included Holland, but, as the actor related to Backstage, it didn’t quite go according to plan.
I’ve read the wrong lines at the wrong audition before. I remember my audition for Star Wars, I was like four or five auditions in, and I think I was auditioning for John Boyega’s role. I remember doing this scene with this lady, bless her, and she was just a drone. So I was doing all of this, like, ‘We gotta get back to the ship!’ And she was going, ‘Bleep, bloop bloop, bleep bloop.’ I just couldn’t stop laughing. I found it so funny. And I felt really bad, because she was trying really hard to be a convincing android or drone or whatever they’re called. Yeah, I obviously didn’t get the part. That wasn’t my best moment.”
The different Finn
As everyone knows, the role went to John Boyega while Holland would win the part of Spider-Man in the MCU.
Holland himself has no ill will toward the casting choice. Not only did he praise Boyega playing the part better than he could have but he also conceded that the failed auditions helped him “grow” as an actor.
Obviously, Holland as Finn would have meant a very different dynamic for the character. Fans have praised Finn for being a leading black character in a franchise notorious for ignoring minorities
However, Boyega acknowledged facing a harsh backlash from some fans for the role. He also went on the record complaining about how he felt Finn was marginalized for Rise of Skywalker.
It did work out for both men with Holland happy as Spider-Man and about to take on the role of Nate Drake in the big-screen version of the hit video game Uncharted.
Holland is currently filming Spider-Man 3 and cited to Backstage on Robert Downey Jr. and co-star Zendaya as two “acting mentors.”
On Zendaya, Holland told Backstage “You can’t really find anything against Zendaya, she’s kind of like the perfect person. It was so wonderful to have someone like her in my corner, to help me grow through that process.”
While Star Wars and MCU fans are happy with the final casting choices, it is intriguing to imagine how Holland as Finn would have changed the two mega-franchises.
Spider-Man 3 due in theaters on December 17, 2021. Uncharted scheduled for theaters on February 11, 2022