Interesting Star Wars History: Darth Vader Almost Became a Samurai

We all know Darth Vader in "Star Wars", but if Toshiro Mifune had accepted the contract for "Star Wars" at that time, our impression of the Dark Lord might be that of a Japanese samurai.

The influence of Japanese culture on Star Wars is obvious, because George Lucas admired Japanese director Akira Kurosawa very much. Previously, the media broke the news that George Lucas even invited Toshiro Mifune, one of the leading actors in Rashomon and Seven Samurai, to participate in Star Wars and invite him to play the role of Obi-Wan, the King of Charm. This casting is not particularly surprising, but what we didn't know was that Toshiro Mifune had the opportunity to play another important role.

In the latest episode of the Japanese variety show "World Wonderful Discovery", Mifune Mika, the daughter of Toshiro Mifune, recalled the situation when her father refused the role of Obi-Wan. Mika said that after Mifune Mifune refused to play Obi-Wan, the film crew invited him to play Darth Vader. They also expressed their willingness to design Darth Vader's helmet based on Toshiro's appearance. If Mifune Mifune had taken the role at that time, his face would have been fully exposed. The reason for such perseverance was that Lucas really wanted Toshiro Mifune to appear in "Star Wars". Unfortunately, Toshiro Mifune thought that this science fiction movie was a children's film for children, so he did not accept the contract.

It would seem natural to have Toshiro Mifune play Obi-Wan, but Darth Vader's image and his voice are so ingrained in our movie memories that it's hard to imagine what it would be like if Toshiro Mifune's face was used instead.