Burt Reynolds never made a sci-fi movie. He turned down two in the 1970s, but ‘Star Wars’ isn’t the one that got away
Burt Reynolds never appeared in a science-fiction film, despite turning down roles in two prominent 1970s projects. He declined Han Solo in *Star Wars* because it clashed with *Smokey and the Bandit*, and said he did not feel he had missed out; the article argues that passing on *Zardoz* was the decision he regretted.
Reynolds became one of Hollywood’s biggest box-office draws during the science-fiction boom that followed *Star Wars*. *Smokey and the Bandit* was the second-highest-grossing film of 1977, while *Star Wars* topped the box office and made Harrison Ford a household name. Reynolds said illness forced him to withdraw from John Boorman’s *Zardoz*, and he later felt bad about disappointing the director, whom he regarded as the best he had worked with.
In short
- Reynolds passed on Han Solo to make *Smokey and the Bandit*.
- He regretted missing *Zardoz* after illness forced him to withdraw.
- *Star Wars* became 1977’s box-office leader and propelled Harrison Ford.
Explained simply
Burt Reynolds was a major Hollywood star in the 1970s, known for action comedies such as Smokey and the Bandit. That decade also saw science-fiction films reach a much wider audience, led by George Lucas’s Star Wars, which introduced audiences to the character Han Solo.
Reynolds was offered the role of Han Solo but turned it down because it clashed with filming Smokey and the Bandit; Harrison Ford went on to play the part. Reynolds also withdrew from John Boorman’s science-fiction film Zardoz after becoming ill, and later said he felt he had let the director down.
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