How Boy Band *NSYNC Almost Ended Up In 'Star Wars '

Attack of the Clones culminates with the Battle of Geonosis, one of the largest scale fight scenes in all of Star Wars. It is a halted execution in a colosseum-like arena with hundreds of Jedi cutting their way through Separatist battle droids. It is the one of the first appearances for many Jedi who became fan-favorites, with their stories told in video games and The Clone Wars animated show. This includes Jedi like Luminara Unduli, Barriss Offee, and Shaak Ti. Numerous background Jedi make the final cut, most never to be seen again. One such team of Knights that ended up on the cutting room floor was one of the most popular boy bands of the early 2000s.

The Huffington Post once talked about the involvement of members of the band *NSYNC in the climatic battle. The singers-turned- Jedi in question - Joey and Steven Fatone, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick - were allegedly filmed in Jedi robes during a break in their PopOdyssey tour. The more well known members of the band, Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass, declined to travel to the studio for filming, choosing instead to rest after busy days of touring and performing.

Rumors of the inclusion of members of *NSYNC were met with much derision and outrage from the Star Wars fandom, with speculation that this backlash is what led to the omission of the scenes. It is refreshing to hear that some things haven't changed in two decades. While the scenes focusing on members of the band may not have made the final cut of the film, it doesn't stop the bandmates from fondly recalling their days on set. Described as "freaking cool," these famous extras had Padawan braids glued to their hair, the customary "brown and tan robes" of the Jedi Order, and the cherry on top, lightsabers.

To hear *NSYNC tell it, there was minimal direction on how to wield the greatest weapon in science fiction. They were told to stand back to back, as if surrounded by battle droids, and fight their opponents on their own terms. Little to no instruction on form was given to the pop stars, who were left to their own devices when it came to wielding their sabers. According to Joey Fatone,

"They kind of paired us off, it was actually me and my brother that were kind of fighting back-to-back for the big arena scene, they basically said, 'pretend like you're fighting droids.'"

While the prequels have aged well, meme culture and comparisons against the sequels, this does speak to complaints with a lack of direction at times on set. Save for the famous "faster and more intense" direction of George Lucas, actors were left to figure out their own saber moves and form with Lucas and the post-production team matching CGI battle droids to the actors filmed movements.

This was the case for the *NSYNC cameo that never happened, as Fatone goes on to describe to the Huffington Post how they were all trying to figure out "what the hell they were doing" as they swung their prop lightsabers around the set, dismembering non-existent droids. This has been brought up time and time again in regards to the prequels, with Ewan McGregor recently expressing relief that the Volume had taken the place of green screen, allowing actors to more seamlessly place themselves in the galaxy or on an alien world. With this impressive set creation technology at their disposal, perhaps *NSYNCs cameo would have made it into the final cut of Attack of the Clones.

Fatone also describes accidently making "lightsaber noises" as he swung and twirled his prop sword. This was an issue plaguing even experienced fake saber wielders. McGregor and Hayden Christensen have also described the childish tendency to make your own sound effects. As childhood fans who grew up pretending to be aboard the Millennium Falcon, or dueling Darth Vader in Cloud City, it is hard to blame anyone for losing themselves in the moment of filming Star Wars and falling into the habit of sound effect creation.

Written By Weston Erickson

Source(s): Huffington Post

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