The Star Wars saga is known for its rich cast of characters, including those in smaller supporting roles. One such character is rebel pilot Wedge Antilles, who made his first appearance as one of the only surviving x-wing pilots in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. However, as one fan points out, the character’s on-screen portrayal has a much more complicated history than one might expect.
On the official Star Wars subreddit, user VillianM posted a graphic that details the confusing journey behind Wedge Antilles’ on-screen portrayal. According to the graphic, Wedge was initially played by British actor Colin Higgins, who you can still see during the Death Star briefing scene in A New Hope (he’s the pilot that Luke brags to about bulls-eying womp rats in his T-16). However, Star Wars creator George Lucas wanted Wedge to have an American accent, so actor David Ankrum was brought in to dub Higgins’ lines. Higgins was later fired because he apparently couldn’t remember his lines, so British actor Denis Lawson was brought in to be the face of Wedge during the famous Death Star trench run, but Ankrum still provided the voice via dubbing.
After A New Hope, Lawson was eager to reprise the role, so he worked on his American accent and was hired to portray Wedge in the subsequent films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Even though Lawson had secured the role, Ankrum was eventually brought back to voice Wedge in a brief scene in the 2016 spin-off film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where you can hear his voice over an intercom. Wedge also had a small role in the animated television series Star Wars Rebels, where his facial features were designed after Lawson, but his voice was portrayed by yet another actor, Nathan Kress. Lawson would eventually reprise the role in a brief cameo in the final film of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker.
It’s a much more complex history than many fans would expect from such a small character, but in typical Star Wars fashion, even the smallest characters have expensive histories and personalities. Wedge Antilles has appeared throughout other forms of Star Wars media, including comics, novels, TV shows, and more recently the fighter pilot simulation video game Star Wars: Squadrons, where he is voiced by Denis Lawson. So, in total, that’s four different actors portraying one supporting character over 40 years of the franchise’s history.
Considering Wedge Antilles survived the original films and has gone on to appear in canon stories that take place in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi, perhaps Wedge will show up again in another Star Wars TV show or movie. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is confirmed to be working on Rogue Squadron, a movie based on the Starfighter squadron founded by Luke Skywalker to which Wedge belongs.
We also know from The Rise of Skywalker that Wedge is still kicking around in the galaxy decades after the original trilogy. So, perhaps a fifth actor will step into the role to portray a young Wedge in Rogue Squadron, or maybe a de-aged Lawson voiced by Ankrum just to make this more confusing.
The Star Wars saga is now streaming on Disney Plus.
Source: r/StarWars
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