During Mikey Madison’s Oscar campaign, she gave a few interviews and she was often asked about what she had lined up post-awards season. Mikey was always non-committal, saying that she wanted to see what was out there, but it would be difficult to take on another project after her amazing experience on Anora. As in, she was looking for a spark, she was looking for another once-in-a-lifetime experience as an actress. Post-awards season, I’m sure this newly-minted Best Actress Oscar winner is getting her fair share of scripts and offers. Reportedly, she’s being pursued for a Colleen Hoover adaptation (it sounds like Mikey isn’t interested). And now this: she was offered a Star Wars movie and she turned it down cold.
Mikey Madison won’t journey into a Galaxy Far Far Away for her first project after picking up the best actress Oscar.
Sources tell Variety that Madison was offered a role in the new and untitled “Star Wars” movie directed by “Deadpool & Wolverine” filmmaker Shawn Levy, but conversations have since ended with the “Anora” star passing on the part.
As previously reported, screenwriter Jonathan Tropper (“This Is Where I Leave You,” “The Adam Project”) has been writing the screenplay for the film, which will star Ryan Gosling. Levy — who will join the rarefied club of directors who’ve worked with both Canadian movie stars named Ryan — has been developing the project since late 2022 and is also producing for his 21 Laps company, along with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
The movie is said to be a standalone project that isn’t connected with the Skywalker Saga, which concluded with 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” All other plot details are encased in carbonite for the foreseeable future.
I totally get why she passed. Disney/LucasFilm ruined a lot of Star Wars properties in the past decade, and the Star Wars fanbase makes it incredibly difficult for women to take space in these franchises. There’s a huge body of evidence that Disney and LucasFilm refuse to protect their actors too. So… yeah, why bother? Especially if you’re not even jazzed about the potential storyline. It would be really cool if Mikey envisions a more art-house type of career for herself. Like, more indie films, smaller projects, saying yes to first-time directors. I feel like too many good actors have thrown themselves into the “major franchise” machinery too quickly.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
