Judi Dench Was Discussed To Play Millennium Falcon Creator in Cut Rise of Skywalker Scene

It’s no secret that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker underwent serious rewrites, and had things gone differently Judi Dench may have appeared in the movie. Concept artist Phil Saunders shared a piece of art he did for a scene that was eventually cut, in which Rey tracks down thew designed of the Millennium Falcon to find something to help fight the First Order. He also revealed that Dench was on the wishlist for the role.

Saunders wrote on ArtStation:

“Another random shot from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In an earlier version of the script, Rey would have sought out the original designer of the Millennium Falcon to find a piece of hardware that could stop the First Order armada. Dame Judi Dench was on the wishlist for the role, and would have been great. Rey finds her on yet another desert planet of course, and her home would have been carved into the top of a spectacular mesa. I was just tasked with adapting a piece of reference provided by the art department into an interesting interior.”

Of course, the scene never came to be, a victim of the rewrite process that heavily altered the film’s script before (and during) shooting. You can see the piece Saunders created at the link.