Why Gary Oldman Was Replaced As The Voice Of The Grieving General In Star Wars

“Star Wars” is full of fascinating, enigmatic villainsmost of them barely get any dialogue, let alone explain their background or backstory – at least in the movies. Whether presenting Darth Vader as nothing more than a tall, menacing man clad in dark, robotic armor, or the silent, imposing armor of Boba Fett, these antagonists work because of how little we know about them, and how memorable they are designs.

This is especially true in the prequel trilogy, where we get characters like Darth Maul, who is just evil incarnate, a perfect design. While it may not be as popular, General Grievous’s own character design is just as effective. He’s a villain that’s instantly memorable and impressive, with his cybernetic exterior and biological organs making him somewhat mysterious and magical.

Angry, like most things “Star Wars,” went through many changes before making its debut, with George Lucas even briefly considered making the character Darth Maul a disguise. The general was first introduced in the 2003 animated micro-series “Clone Wars” by Genndy Tartakovsky, where he was voiced by John DiMaggio and Richard McGonagle, before making his big screen debut in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. ” In that film, Grievous was voiced by sound editor and voice actor Matthew Wood, who would go on to reprise the role in the cartoon series “The Clone Wars” (where he also voices the battle droids and many others).

But before Wood became the voice of Grievous, the asthmatic cybernetic villain was almost portrayed in “Revenge of the Sith” by none other than Oscar winner Gary Oldman. Once, while appearing on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Oldman said he even recorded some lines for the character, which was directed by Lucas himself. So what went wrong? According to Oldman, “What happened was something to do with union stuff and non-union stuff,” adding that he didn’t want to be “a poster boy for breaking union rules.”

The reason Oldman was unable to voice Grievous in “Revenge of the Sith” had to do with the fact that the film was a non-SAG shoot that took place in England and Australia – as all “Star Wars” films have to do. There is a regulation within the Screen Actors Guild known as Global Rule One, which ensures that members retain their full union protections even if they work overseas. Although Lucasfilm requested special permission to have Oldman take part in a non-union production, the actor ultimately had to pass on the film.

This is far from the first time that George Lucas has had difficulties with unions and guilds, with whom the director has had a long, uneasy and complicated history. It started after the release of “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980, when Lucas very publicly left the Director’s Guild of America after a dispute over the use of a director’s credit on screen. Although Lucas has received awards from the Producers Guild (of which he is apparently still a member), he is also not technically a member of the WGA. Instead, the retired filmmaker is a “fi-core member,” meaning he resigned his full membership in the writers’ union and instead pays his dues and union contract benefits, but otherwise does not have to follow any union rules, including union strikes.

In 1981, Lucas even became the first person ever to become a fi-core member of WGA – although the list soon came to include other notable filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Bob Gale, Robert Rodriguez, and Steven Soderbergh.