Kurt Russell Kept Tripping Over A Star-Lord Line In Guardians Of The Galaxy 2
Kurt Russell's most memorable character from his long history on the big screen, which stretches all the way back to when Walt Disney was still alive, is probably Snake Plissken from John Carpenter's classic sci-fi action movie "Escape from New York" (and to a lesser extent, "Escape from L.A."). But in an alternate universe, it could have been Han Solo or Luke Skywalker.
A few years before Snake Plissken came along, Russell was one of many actors who auditioned for the "Star Wars" roles that would eventually make Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford huge stars. However, George Lucas couldn't figure out which role he like Russell in better. With another job opportunity on the table to star in a Western TV series called "The Quest," Russell opted not to wait around for Lucas to make up his mind, withdrew from consideration, and the rest is history. But it would seem "Star Wars" still lingers in the back of Kurt Russell's mind.
In 2016, Russell returned to sci-fi blockbuster territory with a key role in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." The sequel finds him playing the long-lost father of Chris Pratt's character Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, who just so happens to share more than a few traits with Han Solo. But Russell wasn't just some handsome, digitally de-aged guy who got Peter's mother pregnant; he was Ego, a primordial and powerful being known as a Celestial. That made Quill even more special than he ever knew, but like a true absentee father who went out for cigarettes and never came back, Russell had a hard time getting his on-screen son's name right. Throughout one scene, Kurt Russell had a problem accidentally referring to Star-Lord as "Star Wars."
We've heard tales about the man they call Star Wars
If you check out the special features on the home media release for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," you'll see several outtakes where Kurt Russell keeps referring to Chris Pratt's character as "Star Wars." When trying to stroke Quill's ego, Ego says, "Well, even where I reside out past the edge of what's known, we've heard tales about the man they call Star Wars." Whoopsie doodle! Russell himself seemed to be aware of the slip of the tongue potentially being an ongoing issue, as he can be heard saying, "We could be in trouble."
In a post from Twitter, that has since been deleted (via The Hollywood Reporter), director James Gunn was also amused by the repeated flub, calling it "the weirdest thing." But every actor has a tendency to get hung up on certain lines. Sometimes all it takes is one wrong line reading to throw off an actor's entire vibe on set. They get inside their own head, they forget the dialogue, and they're focusing so hard on remembering what they're supposed to say that they end up messing up something else. It can be a quick downward spiral, so having a good sense of humor in those moments is key.
As Russell makes the error again, the actor can't help but get amusingly exasperated with himself, saying, "We've heard tell of the man they call Star Wars. Ugh. Yes, Star Wars. He's all of Star Wars. We've heard of the movie 'Star Wars.'" It's been said that the child known as "Star Wars" could be seen hanging out with Ricky Bobby's children Walker and Texas Ranger from "Talladega Nights." Perhaps that's why the saga has become a bit of a rascally misfit in recent years.