In the spirit of the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith decides to be a bit of a tease about his role that never was in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Still the Doctor, despite it all.

Matt Smith: The Star Wars Character Who Never Was (Yet)?

During an episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, English actor Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown) spoke with Josh Horowitz on the subject of Star Wars. Specifically: how he got cut from it. Apparently, Smith’s character was cut very early in the production of The Rise of Skywalker. How early? Smith never even set foot on set. Lucasfilm didn’t make any costumes for the character, and never shot any scenes of him playing said character. Fortunately, Lucasfilm didn’t decide to hand his part to someone else either. In the end, his character became “obsolete” to the story that was planned out. Thus, cutting out Smith’s character entirely from the finished product and Smith “never got to be in Star Wars“.

Matt Smith with messy hair.
The perfect mug, but for a hero or villain?

But who is this mysterious Star Wars Character?

So, who was Matt Smith going to play in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Well, that’s the tricky bit. Josh Horowitz of Happy Sad Confused speculated that Smith was going to play Emperor Palpatine’s son, and even asked Smith about it. As expected, Smith became very evasive about the subject. The only things he did mention were that it was “groovy”, and that his character would’ve transformed Star Wars’ story presenting a “big shift in the history of the franchise”. Smith even speculates that he could one day come back to Star Wars, but unfortunately, technical difficulties interrupted the call right when Smith was mentioning details about this opportunity. So, now we have no idea what he was going to say! Get back on the line!

Trioculus from Star Wars.
What Matt Smith’s character could’ve been?

Could Matt Smith play Palpatine’s Son?!

The speculation about Matt Smith playing Palpatine’s son does lead one to wonder if he had been about to play Trioculus? As a major figure in Star Wars Legends, he claimed the throne calling to his lineage as Palpatine’s son. Heck, Smith even looks a lot like the character in the series. All you’d need to do is comb back Smith’s hair, add some makeup,p and special effects, and presto! One English Trioculus ready to be the lost son of Palpatine. Unfortunately, this is all speculation barring any word from Matt Smith or Lucasfilm. So, take this with a grain of salt.

Source: Twitter, Wookieepedia