After eight years, Star Wars has recast a major villain. With the franchise turning 50 years old next year, there have inevitably been many recasts over the years, some of which have been generally well-received, while others were more controversial.
One of the earlier examples was Star Wars recasting Emperor Palpatine after The Empire Strikes Back. In the second installment of the original trilogy, Palpatine appears as a hologram and is voiced by Clive Revill and physically played by Marjorie Eaton. In Return of the Jedi and for all the character’s future appearances in live-action movies and shows, the villain is played by Ian McDiarmid.
With the prequel trilogy taking place decades earlier in the Star Wars timeline, many original trilogy roles were naturally recast, including those of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Boba Fett, Owen and Beru Lars, and Mon Mothma in a scene ultimately cut from Revenge of the Sith. The animated The Clone Wars series then recast most of the prequel’s voice cast, with notable examples being Matt Lanter as Anakin, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan, and Ian Abercrombie and Tim Curry as Palpatine.
In the Disney era, Benjamin Bratt was recast as Bail Organa for Andor season 2 since Jimmy Smits’ scheduling prevented him from being able to return. Alden Ehrenreich famously played a young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story opposite Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Now, another Solo character has been recast, and this time it is the main villain introduced in the standalone movie.
Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord Recasts Dryden Vos
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, season 1, episodes 9 & 10.Dryden Vos, the primary antagonist of Solo, is played by a new actor in the final two episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord season 1. Instead of Paul Bettany, who played the character in Solo, Dryden is voiced by Scott Whyte, a voice actor whose other credits include The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots, and the video game Batman: Arkham Shadow.
Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos was also a recast, as the role originally belonged to Michael K. Williams, who was unable to come back during the movie’s extensive reshoots.
In the Shadow Lord season 1 finale, Dryden reaches out to Maul (Sam Witwer) with a proposal. He offers to give Maul and his allies safe passage out of the Imperial-occupied planet of Janix if the former Sith Lord agrees to kill Rintero, who is the leader of the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn. After barely surviving an encounter with Darth Vader, Maul reaches Dryden’s ship and promises that he will now uphold his end of the bargain.
When Dryden first appears as a hologram in Maul – Shadow Lord episode 9, his voice does sound different from Bettany’s, but it still feels consistent with the character that was established in Solo. With Dryden’s season 1 appearance kept under wraps, the recasting was not announced ahead of time.
As seen with The Clone Wars, it is not uncommon for actors to be recast for Star Wars‘ animated shows. This is even the case with the titular character of Maul – Shadow Lord, as he was physically played by actor and martial actor Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz in The Phantom Menace. Witwer first voiced Maul in The Clone Wars and has also done so in Star Wars Rebels and various LEGO Star Wars games and television episodes.
Dryden Vos Will Have A Much Bigger Role In Shadow Lord Season 2
Dryden plays an important role in the last two episodes of Maul – Shadow Lord season 1, but ends up having a limited amount of screen time as the focus is understandably on Maul, Devon Izara (Gideon Adlon), and the show’s other main characters as they encounter Darth Vader and try to escape Janix. That will not be the case in the already renewed season 2, as Dryden is poised to play a very prominent role due to his new alliance with Maul.
In Solo, Dryden is the story’s main villain and the face of Crimson Dawn, but he hints that he answers to someone, and that is ultimately revealed to be Maul, who controls the syndicate and the larger criminal underworld. This was intended to be explored in a sequel, but that never happened due to the movie underperforming at the box office.
Shadow Lord is partly serving as a Solo prequel that reveals how Maul came to be in this formidable position. He already had history in the criminal underworld with the Shadow Collective during the Clone Wars, and he takes control of the Pyke Syndicate in Shadow Lord season 1, but there is still a long way for him to go. The new partnership and killing Crimson Dawn’s boss is a pivotal step toward explaining how Maul becomes Star Wars‘ foremost criminal kingpin during this time, with Scott Whyte presumably continuing to voice Dryden in season 2.
- TV Show(s)
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The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
- Cast
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Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
- Movie(s)
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Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
