Star Wars Episode 7 News

Monday, May 12, 2014

Denis Lawson aka Wedge Antilles Turned Down Disney's Offer to Return in Star Wars: Episode 7.

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The Scottish actor who appeared in all 3 Original Trilogy episodes and is also the uncle of Ewan McGregor revealed that he had been approached by Disney to return in Star Wars: Episode VII but turned down the offer... 


 
This is not the first time when we hear that Lawson is not interested in the new movies. Few weeks ago the actor also said that he's not interested to return to the galaxy far far away. Later Lawson’s close friend Gary Mancini gave some hope to Wedges's fans saying:

We spoke to him when he was doing a signing last year and he said he wasn’t interested in just a cameo, but if there was a fully rounded and expanded role for him in the film, he would consider it, script and price pending.

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Now Lawson made the revelation at a screening of his most recent film, The Machine, at Strathearn Artspace in his home town.

From TheCourier

When asked if the next new Denis Lawson film to be screened there would be Star Wars, he replied: “I’m not going to do that.”

Asked if it was because Disney had taken over the franchise, he replied: “They asked me but it just would have bored me.”

He did not elaborate on why he had declined the part and it is unknown if his nephew, Ewan McGregor, will reprise his role as Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi.

90 comments:

  1. He's grown to become a tired grumpy old man. I don't think he's aware what he took part in.

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    1. He's aware. He just doesn't want a bit part.

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    2. He never had an in terest in Star Wars, even as an actor in the films. I read an interview a while ago where Lawson mentioned that he just does not understand why such an enormous population of people around the world are so enthralled by it. The science-fantasy aspect of it bores him.

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    3. He's anything but a grumpy old man, he seems like a very nice bloke with a lively sense of humor. He's just not into SW. It's a shame he won't be in it but he has to follow his muse.

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  2. I would love to see Lawson reprise his role as Wedge, but honestly I can't see them beefing up his part for the new trilogy. I'm willing to bet he won't be in it. I think the difference of interest in Star Wars between Lawson and his nephew McGregor is amusing. I always got the feeling that McGregor would absolutely love the chance to return even for a small cameo. But aside from appearing via an old holocron message, I don't see McGregor's return making much sense. It's funny how Lawson could take it or leave it, but would obviously rather leave it. Looks like we won't have a Merlin character in the new trilogy so we'll just have to settle for Maverick, Goose, or Iceman. :)

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  4. What is wrong with this guy? Seriously!

    Redski

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  6. Well, if he doesn't want to return to please the fans, then screw him. Let only those who are interested in the franchise make a return (Hamill, Fisher, Daniels, etc). By all accounts, Ford couldn't care less but will be killed off in VII anyway.

    BTW - McGregor has aged extremely well since the PT. What's his secret?

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    1. i respect him for doing what he wants and not just following a pay check or glory hunting

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    2. If you really think even 2% of the cast would appear in the film without $$$ you're too absorbed in the movie than reality. They don't care about the movie or the fans, they do it all for the money.

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  8. Pretty entitled don't you think? He was a minor background character in the Original Trilogy. They didn't have to ask him to come back for a cameo but they did. I'd understand if he just said no but asking for more money and a bigger part in the movie was pushing it.

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  9. McGregor is looking very Kenobi-ish. Could he be returning to play Force-Ghost Kenobi?

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    1. This image is from a year ago.

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    2. Wow. They filmed his scenes a year ago? ;o)

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  10. Wedge served his purpose more than adequately in three films, and his part in Jedi was nothing more than a retelling of the Battle of Yavin. He's a generic wing-man. I know his character's been highly developed by literature and comics, but only so far as the films are concerned, it's no loss whatsoever to end his story in 1983.

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    1. JJ would LOVE to put Wedge in his film. Wedge is a little more than a generic wing-man. He appeared in all three films and was noticed and a fan favorite. I'm guessing part of his not wanting to return is the use of his image on all kinds of toys and mini-busts ect. without pay.

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  11. Viral Hide like to remove comments he dont agree with, ok then maybe we should all stop giving a crap about this site, not like we need it with all the other sited we hang out on.

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    1. Good luck finding a site who will allow you to insult and curse one of the Star Wars actors.

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    2. Ya, there's a difference between encouraging civil discourse or keeping it PG-13 and ruling with an iron fist. Fastest way to lose contributors to a community.

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    3. Oh that's really rich kurumako, considering the fact that most of the people who post on here bicker and argue and moan about every little detail about any rumor that we get about Episode VII. Take a look at the post about the new cast members. All people did was moan about the lack of females in the cast, and Disney still has more cast members to reveal to us. Most of the posts I've read on this site are absolutely bloody pathetic. Now cue the smartass who's going to call me pathetic.....

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    4. Well, I hope you feel better after venting. Now if you go back and read my post I was agreeing with you. This time think of my post being directed toward the site administrator and not you.

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    5. I'm not the original poster. And I knew that your post was directed at the site administrator. Viral Hide has every right to run this site the way he see's fit. If you don't like the way this site is run, don't come here.

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    6. He sure does. And he will lose contributors and readers by ruling with an iron fist. I'm not saying this site should be anything goes. But, we're a community of human beings, not robots. Flexibility is key in dealing with other human beings. He makes money based on page views. Having a community of people who contribute and return over and over again only helps him in that case. Making it so that people don't want to return is bad for business, and he certainly isn't doing this because it gives him a warm and fuzzy feeling.

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    7. I come to this site every day to lap up any new news on Episode VII. I used to post with a name but I found that some people took aim at me about some of the things I posted that I thought were actually beneficial to that particular thread. Now I come here just for the news and have a quick scan of the comments And have gone back to posting anonymously because I can't be bothered with all the bullshit. If you think he is ruling with an iron fist then your lucky I'm not the administrator of this site. I think Viral Hide has been rather lenient with a lot of people on this site..

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    8. I said he was a idiot for saying no to VII,how is that cursing ? and i'm within my right to say what i want in these matters as it is not a personal attack on anyone here ! but a public person in the media.Hide if you are from the US i understand you have your political correct crap the rest of the world laughs at but you could atleast try to be more open to people honest opinions that is in no way rude to anyone here.But hey your site i get it, wanna run it in a way that drives people away ok.

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    9. No, I'm not from the US. And if you look at other articles you'll see that I've been very democratic. This one is different. Too many insults in the first few posts. Drastic actions were required. :)

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    10. Different Anon:
      As a representative of fans from the US, I'd like to say that I too am fed up with the politically correct fascism arising in our culture and society. I hate to see those skewed ideas of what's right and wrong weaseling their way into something like Star Wars. Viral Hide's actions in filtering out inappropriate comments, however, have had nothing to do with him running this site with an "iron fist" by any means. He's just trying to keep the site free of hateful comments that really don't contribute to discussion or have any substantial significance.

      -Master Whiffy

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    11. I couldn't agree with you more Master Whiffy. There in no need for bile and vitriol. If you don't like something that's fine, but there is no need for offensive and abusefull comments.

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    12. Exactly, We have to keep all of thevarious fans visiting this site in mind. I know I wouldn't want my kids reading some of the garbage people post as "comments" here. I'm actually quite greatful to Viral for being so attentive with such things. To the anons lashing out at the administrators for looking out for the younger, more sensitive audiences, just create your own blog for hateful remarks against Star Wars news; no one's stopping you. Please let us know how well that's goes for you ;)

      -Master Whiffy

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    13. Fine i will never again call anyone here a moron,now lets move on !

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    14. I appreciate what Viral Hide is trying to do in removing and discouraging hateful comments.

      However, I reserve the right to call myself a moron. Just for kicks.

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    15. Anyone who thinks that Viral is some sort of "fascist" who "rules with an iron fist" clearly hasn't done much time over on TheForce.Net! I don't know how it is these days, but I stopped going there ages ago when they started banning people for criticizing the prequels.

      Near as I can tell, Viral occasionally deletes a post that rubs him the wrong way. Pretty standard for somebody moderating comments on his own blog, wouldn't y'all say?

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  12. "It would just bore me"- What a douche. Its not like he's Harison Ford. He should take what he can get.

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    1. Ironically, I find Mr Lawson's acting to be quite boring ;)

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    2. You are way off the mark there. Denis Lawson is very highly regarded. Star Wars has always been given gravitas by British actors who's small parts become the greater whole. I understand that Denis would prefer not to just accept a small role but I do agree him may have not understood the size of his original casting compared to the affection that fans have with the role.
      He could have been given an Admiral's job but at the end of the day you want your pilots to be young guns.

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  13. I give Mr. Lawson credit for making his choice and sticking with it. It will not make any difference in the movie whatsoever anyway. "Oh - there's Wedge, standing in the background". Big deal. Also - Viral Hind sucks.

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    1. Who's Viral Hind?

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    2. He is one of the worst scumbags in the Galaxy. :)

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    3. A patron of the Mos Eisley cantina then?

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  14. marc_mooneys@yahoo.comMay 12, 2014 at 3:45 PM

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  15. It's unfortunate that Denis doesn't want to be in VIII or that Ewan probably won't get the chance. I wouldn't be surprised if Ewan wished he was Denis in this situation.

    Interestingly enough, I would have absolutely no problem if Ewan was able to dress himself up to resemble older Wedge in the ST.

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  16. Star Wars has never been about Wedge, nor will it ever be. What is he thinking?? How much of a bother would it be to film his usual 15 seconds of screen time and be done with it. The guy has received so much fame for such a small bit part role, it's ridiculous. Things like that can easily get you other acting jobs, and $$$ for various fan events, etc. Guess he doesn't want to be bothered with such things.

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    1. Maybe he doesn't need any of that. And like any other person on Earth, Dennis Lawson has the right to say "thanks, but no thanks" to anything he feels like saying no to.

      If I were him and I had no immediate need for $ (because let's face it, the fame's already there for him because of this role, whether he reprised it or not) I certainly wouldn't feel under any obligation to do a small cameo, only to please a few (or many) SW fans.

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  17. I find it refreshing for once, to see an actor being honest about his feelings for SW (yes, it's beloved all over the world, but there's an exception to every "rule").

    Besides, he's not the only one (Sir Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford) and Wedge is obviously not as important as Han, for instance. So no big loss here…except for fans of the Rogue Squadron books, perhaps.

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    1. I movd to the UK in 1997, just before the special edition release of Episode IV. I met this guy who became a good friend of mine while I was there. When the movie came out I asked him If he wouldn't mind driving me to the nearest town that had a cinema (I lived in a small village at the time and the nearest cinema was a good 10 miles away) and I bought his ticket for him in lieu of fuel money. I had to wake him up at the end of the film. He was not a Star Wars fan, he said he found the films boring which as far as I'm concerned is cool. Different strokes for different folks.

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    2. You find it refreshing? Ever heard of Harrison Ford?

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    3. kurumako, a little quote from my original post for you here:

      "Besides, he's not the only one (Sir Alec Guiness, HARRISON FORD) and Wedge is obviously not as important as Han, for instance." (Caps added for emphasis).

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  18. bah.. I find mr. Lawson's lack of confidence, disturbing! Seriously ''I'm bored with it'' WTF?!?! A person who played in the original trilogy, no matter what his role was, should be proud of it and respect the millions of fans that grew up with those movies! Rogue Squadron is nothing without Wedge Antilles and we fans love that character, no matter that its entirely from a cockpit point of view. So mr. Lawson if you happen to read this someday, know that we fans are proud with You and Wedge, the greatest pilot of the Rebel Alliance! Peace.

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    1. Agreed!

      There are no small roles, only small actors. Dennis Lawson is a small actor in many ways.

      But He will be missed.

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    2. he gets better parts and money on stage and uk tv , he owes fans nothing and shouldnt make decisions based on others feelings .... its a job , nothing more

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  19. I'm not really sure why DL is so bitter towards SW. Perhaps he felt like he was under-used or perhaps he felt like he should have parlayed SW into bigger roles for himself. Either way, I'm a little surprised he didn't take advantage of a pretty easy and pretty huge (I'm sure for him) payday.

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    1. Or maybe he's being honest and he simply doesn't like SW, b/c he finds it boring. In this case, kudos to him for staying true to his feelings, even when that means turning down a pretty easy and pretty huge payday (for him or anyone else, for that matter).

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  20. Maybe he's still mad that David Ankrum dubbed his voice.

    http://starwarsinterviews1.blogspot.com/2010/07/david-ankrum-voice-of-wedge-antilles.html

    Maybe Colin Higgins would be willing to come back for the role of Wedge:

    http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/2013/02/06/star-wars-mysteries-hunting-for-the-fake-wedge/

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  21. He's sore that Star Wars didn't use him more and made him richer. Since Disney only wanted to give him a minor cameo, that wouldn't have paid more than 15-20k, he felt offended. He has this stupid idea that fans are going to demand his return to the franchise, when in reality the opposite is happening. I love the character wedge, but the original actor is unable to understand his character and the universe he lives in, therefore, unable to perform.

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  22. It's unfortunate that Denis Lawson would rather not bother appearing in any more Star Wars movies, but I can kind of see where he's coming from. Other than standing in the background in a couple scenes in ROTJ, Lawson's entire experience with Star Wars has been to come into the studio, sit in a cockpit giving lines and being bumped around for a day or so, and... well, that's about it.

    To us, it's "Wow! You were in Star Wars! Why don't you want to be in another one?!". To him, it probably boils down to "Do I want to say half a dozen lines whilst sitting in a chair yet again?"

    I wish he'd reconsider, but unfortunately it sounds like his mind is pretty well made up about it at this point.

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    1. At least his face was seen by the entire world and he got significantly more screentime than an enormous amount of crew members that seem much more enthusiastic about Star Wars than Lawson. I actually read an interview a while ago where Lawson mentioned that he just does not understand why such an enormous population of people around the world are so enthralled by it. The science-fantasy aspect of it bores him.

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    2. Well, and it really isn't everyone's cup of tea. For Lawson, it was a good trio of little jobs for a young actor. Since then, he's had a successful career in the theatre and as a TV actor, and I can see him not being particularly interested in going back to a couple of days basically sitting in a chair and reading lines.

      It's too bad that he's not interested enough to do a cameo, and that the production apparently isn't interested enough to give him a meatier part this time around.

      (This is getting me thinking about popping in my DVD of Local Hero, though.) ;^)

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  23. Denis Lawson has no obligation to return and I thnk that it demonstrates his integrity as an actor that he has knocked it back.

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    1. Yes, because he's done...

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    2. Better for him to be done with it than to come back and half-ass it because he doesn't really care.

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  24. he can do what he wants , he doesnt have to say yes just because some fanboys think he should , good luck to him...... hes really good in new tricks

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  25. Wedge isn't even a character that I care about.

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  26. Dang... would've liked to see Wedge for another 2 or 3 minutes. He really should have done it. It would have helped his career more than anything. This film will be watched and studied by millions of people for decades to come. Name one other film you saw Dennis Lawson in.... 3, 2, 1.... exactly.

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    1. Local Hero. Great little movie from about the time he did ROTJ. ;^)

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    2. ok, Dekka, you got me on that one!

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    3. Well, mostly I was just recommending an old favorite of mine. ;^)

      Wedge from Star Wars and Boone from Animal House AND Burt Lancaster in an underrated little "Yank goes to Scotland and ends up really digging it" film.

      (Plus, it's also got Peter "The New Doctor" Capaldi in a smaller role.)

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  27. Dennis Lawson is a serious actor and I admire him for turning this gig down. On the other hand I have always wanted to see Wedge come back as an influential leader in the new republic or even as a corrupted villain in a role that's well realized even if brief. What I don't want to see is Wedge played by another actor.

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  28. They probably only offered him one hundred thousand space bucks. I wonder if he'd do it for a million space bucks. Sure it may seem unfair...to the payor...but not to the payee.

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    1. True, he probably would have done if for the right $

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  30. That seems sooooo petty that He wouldn't do it unless if he's one of the big 3. Well I have the perfect solution:

    Have a scene where they do the "Red 5 standing by" with Jar Jar's grandson in his stead. "missa take your job Wedgy-o!"

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  31. Star Wars technology is approved for our world!

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/tech/innovation/deka-bionic-arm-kamen/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

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  32. How many fan service cameo's do we need.

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  34. Wedge sucks anyways. Plus he sounds like an arse. I want to see Boba Fett since he might have escaped from the Sarlaac....

    I'm considering this if EU stuff is thrown out and maybe he escapes sooner. Or not at all.

    Oh more black people in the universe would be cool too and no cartoon rabbits

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  35. It brings a tear to my eye to hear talk of all the actors who were fortunate enough to participate in the legendary tale that is Star Wars... here we are again as another actor sings the praises of being a part of such a great moment in film histor-

    ...wait, what? He doesN'T want to be in Episode VII? Son-of-a... why must these actors hurt with their words?! Can no one appreciate the gravity of having been put in a situation whereby they are considered icons because of this great, epic franchise? Rhetorical question. Thank goodness for Mark, Carrie, Peter, Anthony and Kenny for there unwavering support of and appreciation for being a part of something special.

    As for Wedge Antilles - through the fault of Denis Lawson - you are now dead to me. Looks like Jar Jar just found a vacancy on my favorites list.

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  36. Denis Lawson certainly has no obligation to return, but I think he may be under estimating the just how much his little cameos in the OT helped him get other roles as an actor.

    The article said "We spoke to him when he was doing a signing last year", so he's not to bothered by the boring SW to go to the signings and take the fans money, but to is to bothered to give back to what brought him fame and fortune.

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  37. Who cares, recast, the character Wedge is awesome... not the actor Denis Lawson, Although Wedge does really important things in the original trilogy, he's only got a couple lines and he's mostly just wearing a helmet... I hate to bring up the expanded universe, but for me personally I only think Wedge is so cool in the movies because of how cool he is in the "X-Wing" and "Thrawn" novels... Wedge is an important character, so re-cast another 60 year old actor.

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  38. I doubt he turned it down. He would be bored? This guy has done nothing in the last 20 years, keep waiting for a bigger offer.

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    1. Maybe he's just bitter about something.

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  39. Denis just give them a call back and say I'll give it a good old Scottish shot!!

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  40. sounds like a douche bag.

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