New reports about Star Wars: The Acolyte have started to emerge following the Star Wars TV show’s cancelation, and one suggests that Keanu Reeves was nearly cast in one of the series’ leading roles. The Acolyte already has a star-studded cast, from Carrie-Anne Moss to Lee Jung-jae, but it seems as if another star may have been close to joining this dazzling roster. While Jung-jae garnered plenty of praise in The Acolyte for his role as Master Sol and was often pointed to as the series’ highlight, this role was nearly played by someone else.

Shared by The InSneider, Keanu Reeves was reportedly in consideration for the role of Master Sol before it ultimately went to Jung-jae. While Reeves didn’t get the chance to star alongside his co-star from The Matrix in this particular Star Wars series, Jeff Sneider goes on to add that Star Wars is reportedly still interested in casting the actor in another project. Given that there are several upcoming Star Wars movies in the works, Reeves certainly still has a chance to make his franchise debut, especially as a famous fancast for Knights of the Old Republic‘s Darth Revan.

Leslye Headland Struggled To Create Master Sol Until She Saw Squid Game

The Character Would Have Been Very Different if Reeves Portrayed Him

This report has come as a shock to viewers who know the background of Master Sol’s character. It’s been stated by The Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland that she had Jung-jae in mind for Sol even as she wrote the character, and that his role in 2021’s Squid Game even facilitated the way she wrote his character. Speaking to IGN, Headland went into more depth about this process and the inspiration she received from Jung-jae.

I had written this character, and I had no idea who to cast, and I had no idea who was going to be able to play all of these different level. I thought [about] Squid Game and I was like, ‘that’s the guy, that’s him . I don’t know how I get in touch with this person, I don’t know if they want to perform in English.’ To me, it became so clearly [Lee]’s part, as opposed to [casting him for] the fact he’s a Korean movie star.

Headland’s honesty about getting inspiration for Sol from Jung-jae seems to contradict the idea that Reeves was in the running for the role, though the timeline could help explain how and why that is. Sol would have been a key part of The Acolyte‘s pitch, prior to him being fully written, and that may have been the stage at which Star Wars was looking at Reeves for a potential casting. Then, once The Acolyte was actually being written, this changed as Headland developed her script.

Either way, it’s interesting this kind of report is breaking just after The Acolyte‘s cancelation – and Jung-jae’s open criticism of Star Wars’ decision to do so. The Acolyte aside, however, there’s still plenty of opportunity for Reeves to join another Star Wars project. As stated above, Reeves has long since been a popular fancast for Darth Revan, which means a potential project focused on the Old Republic era could feature him in that role. The Acolyte may not have been Reeves’ time to join the galaxy, but that doesn’t mean it’s still impossible for him to do so.