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Oscar Isaac was an established actor before the Star Wars sequel trilogy, but those films made him a household name. And to think, he almost turned down his Poe Dameron role because he didn’t care for the character’s storyline. He once joked about reprising the role, but Isaac got serious when he revealed the one way he’d return to Star Wars.

Oscar Isaac attends the 2019 'Star Wars' Celebration in Chicago. After once joking about playing Poe Dameron again, Isaac gave a serious answer about what it would take for him to make his 'Star Wars' return.
Oscar Isaac | Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Disney

Oscar Isaac once joked he’d return to ‘Star Wars’ when he needed a new house

Isaac almost said no to traveling to the Star Wars galaxy, and then he endured 24 slaps to the face from Carrie Fisher after he said yes. The sequel trilogy brought him a new level of fame, but Isaac doesn’t seem to be in a rush to don Poe’s flight suit anytime soon.

He once called the Disney brass overlords while promoting The Rise of Skywalker. He wanted to explore an LGBTQ relationship between Poe and John Boyega’s Finn, but executives said no. It was one example of the executives stripping away creative control from the actors and filmmakers.

Isaac’s unpleasant experience making Star Wars might be why he joked the only way he’d return to play Poe again was if he needed another home. That was just an offhand joke, though. Isaac got more serious about the way he’d return to Star Wars years later.

Oscar Isaac gets serious about the one way he’d make his ‘Star Wars’ return

Isaac seemed to close the door on a Star Wars return years ago, but fans were never quite convinced. It turns out those fans might be partially right — kind of.

When host Jess Cagle asked him about returning to the Star Wars galaxy, Isaac gave a serious answer and revealed he cracked open the closed door. 

“I mean, I’m open to anything. You never know. But yeah, there’s no — I have no real feeling one way or the other, you know? I’m open to any kind of good story, any good thing to do. And time. Time’s the one thing that becomes much more challenging as you get older, with kids and all that. It’s like, where do these things fit in? Start really realizing that there’s not enough time for all of it. 

“But if there was a great story and a great director and Kathy [Kennedy] came to me and was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got this idea,’ you know, I’m so, so open to it.”

Oscar Isaac on a potential Star Wars return

Nothing is imminent, and the timing might be tough to coordinate. Still, if Disney came to Isaac with a quality storyline and standout director, it sounds like the Moon Knight actor could be persuaded to make a Star Wars return.

Will Isaac realistically play Poe Dameron again?

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Oscar Isaac reversed his stance slightly and gave some serious consideration to making a Star Wars return. Still, it’s not as easy as putting on a chic leather jacket or flight suit and showing up to work. And the odds seem stacked against it right now.

Several Disney+ Star Wars shows are lined up well into the future, and none of them are focused on Poe Dameron or The Resistance. 

A feature movie following Isaac’s Poe and the remaining Resistance fighters after the fall of the revived Emperor Palpatine is a possible option. Like the streaming shows, Disney hasn’t announced any plans along those lines, and it would be a stale decision to make. We followed The Rebellion in the original trilogy, then watched The Resistance fight The First Order in the sequel trilogy. Following a similar path again would reek of redundancy.

Marvel chief Kevin Feige has a Star Wars movie in the works. Taika Waititi is writing on a non-Skywalker saga Star Wars film, but it hasn’t received approval from Lucasfilm. Neither project seems like a fit for Isaac to make his return.

Oscar Isaac softened his stance and seriously considered a Star Wars return under the right conditions. When those conditions will be right is a tricky question to answer.

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