Jodie Foster was almost Princess Leia in "Star Wars" – here's why she turned it down

Two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster's career trajectory could have possibly been altered if she accepted the role of Princess Leia in "Star Wars."

On Thursday's "The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon," the "True Detective" actor was asked by Fallon about her long and varied career.

“You’ve been in so many iconic roles, and we love what you do,” Fallon said. “But I saw this on the internet — you were offered the role of Princess Leia in 'Star Wars.' Is that true?”

“I was, yeah,” Foster replied. “They were going for a younger Princess Leia but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract.”

When George Lucas was looking for a Princess Leia, which eventually was played by 19-year-old Carrie Fisher, Foster – who was about 13 or 14 at the time_ was under contract for a Disney movie and did not want to break it for sci-fi role. The year before the original "Star Wars" was released, Foster was in the Disney body-swap comedy "Freaky Friday," which came out in 1976, and in the slapstick comedy "Candleshoe" in 1977. Foster was only 15 when "Star Wars" became a worldwide classic, NBC News reported. 

“And they did an amazing job,” Foster said of Fisher's iconic portrayal of Princess Leia. “I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple.”

However, before Fisher and even Foster were offered the role of Princess Leia, numerous young actors were up for the sought-after role.

The most notable name who was a contender for Leia was the three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep. During the time that Streep auditioned, the then 28-year-old actor had mostly worked in theatre. Even though she did not snag the role of Leia, she made her film debut in the 1977 movie "Julia." After Fisher's passing, there was a petition for Streep to replace her as Leia "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" but filmmaker J.J. Abrams and screenwriter Chris Terrio decided to use deleted footage from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Screenrant reported.

Other actors like Jane Seymour, Kim Basinger, Geena Davis, Glenn Close, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Anjelica Huston and Sissy Spacek also were in the running to play Leia.

The late Fisher told the Daily Beast in 2015 that she had no idea that Streep almost landed Leia: “I've never heard that one. But Jodie Foster was up for it . . . that one I knew the most. Amy Irving and Jodie and I got it.”