Sam Witwer has become a staple in the animated Star Wars Universe, and his take on Darth Maul (or just "Maul" following the events of The Phantom Menace) is particularly memorable. He's also provided the voices of a number of other characters, including Emperor Palpatine, but would he have a good Kanan in Star Wars Rebels?
Well, Lucasfilm initially thought so as Witwer revealed in an interview with Star Wars Holocron that he was cast as the fan-favourite Jedi Knight before Freddie Prinze Jr. ended up replacing him.
"Rebels, for a second according to a few people at Lucasfilm, was called ‘The Sam Show’ because I was Kanan," the actor confirms. "And then they found Freddie [Prinze Jr] after they heard Freddie’s audition. I’ve got to be honest, I had a certain take on the character, and what I was doing was not better than what Freddie was doing."
"What Freddie was doing was better than what I was doing in my opinion, and I realized that when I saw it. I was like, wow, this guy is absolutely that character. I think that’s the way to go."
It would have been fun seeing what Witwer would have brought to the role, but it's now hard to imagine anyone other than Prinze Jr. playing Kanan in the Star Wars Universe (the actor even leant his voice to The Rise of Skywalker's final battle when Rey heard all those voices from the past).
Still, Witwer hasn't done too bad for himself as Maul played a significant role in Star Wars Rebels, and he's currently voicing the iconic villain in the final season of The Clone Wars. Don't forget, he even got the chance to bring his voice to the big screen in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story.
About The Author:
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.