What could have been. John Boyega opened up about Prince William and Prince Harry’s deleted cameo in Star Wars — and the actor wasn’t afraid to reveal which of the brothers was cooler.
“I definitely think it was Harry. Harry is just more casual, isn’t he?” the Woman King star, 30, said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on Thursday, September 22.
Boyega noted that he had his theories on why William, 40, and Harry’s scene was ultimately cut from the final version.
“I don’t know why. Maybe the royal family were like, ‘Nah, leave them out of the Star Wars universe,’” he continued, before joking, “There’s something about royalty. It just seeps through the suit. No, I’m sure that they had their reasons.”
The Golden Globe winner also discussed other high-profile stars who visited the Star Wars set. “[William and Harry] walked on with the big costumes on. They got in the elevator because it was a big elevator scene,” Boyega recalled. “Tom Hardy was on set that day, so it was kind of random. Star Wars is open for everybody. You want to do a cameo? Just show up. It’s like a block party.”
In 2016, the Duke of Cornwall and the Duke of Sussex, 38, offered a glimpse at their trip to Pinewood Studios in London.
At the time, the duo managed to meet Boyega, Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley and director Rian Johnson on the set of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. During their tour, Harry was able to sit in the cockpit of an A-wing fighter. Meanwhile, William was introduced to BB-8. The pair later received hugs from Chewbacca and had a lightsaber fight.
The visit came several years before William and Harry’s infamous rift. The Archewell cofounder’s relationship with his family took a turn in 2019 and got more strained in 2020 when he announced his decision to step back as a senior member alongside wife Meghan Markle.
The couple, who share son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 15 months, made their exit permanent the following year and moved to California.
Following their departure, Harry candidly addressed his time in the royal family. “It’s a mix between The Truman Show and living in a zoo,” he said on Dax Shepard‘s “Armchair Expert” podcast in May 2021. “The biggest issue for me was that, being born into it, you inherit the risk. You inherit every element of it without a choice. And because of the way the UK media are, they feel an ownership over you.”
He added: “In my early 20s, I was in space of, ‘I don’t want this job. Look what it did to my mum, how am I ever going to settle down, have a wife and a family, when I know this is going to happen again.’ I’ve seen behind the curtain, I know how this operation runs and works. I don’t want to be part of this. Then once I started doing therapy suddenly the bubble was burst.”
William and Harry recently crossed paths again at Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral. Following 70 years on the British throne, the late monarch passed away at age 96 on September 8.
Earlier this week, a source told Us Weekly that the funeral for the queen opened the door for Harry and Meghan, 41, to reconcile with the royal family. “The Queen’s funeral gave the royals a window of opportunity to heal as a family,” the insider shared, adding that William and Harry “both agreed to put aside any hard feelings” as they mourned their grandmother.
