Death Row engineer claims Tupac was up for 'Star Wars' role

theGRIO REPORT - Perhaps chalk this rumor up to wishful thinking or you could argue it's too surreal not to be true...

Jan 9, 2014

Fans of the late rapper Tupac Shakur are used to he inflated mythology about the hip-hop icon that has only grown since his passing.

So perhaps chalk this rumor up to wishful thinking or you could argue it’s too surreal not to be true.

According to ex-Death Row Records chief engineer Rick Clifford, the “Dear Mama” rapper was in the running for a role in George Lucas’ first Star Wars prequel 1999’s The Phantom Menace.

“It’s sad because ‘Pac found out that I worked for Brian Austin Green, who was on 90210, then he found out I was in some movies. So we always talked about his film career and stuff,” Clifford told 2Pac-forum.com. “He was telling me that he was supposed to read for George Lucas and them.”

Clifford went on to suggest that Shakur would have played the part of a Jedi, and perhaps even the character ultimately played by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the heroic Mace Windu.

“They wanted him to be a Jedi. Yes, I’m serious. Samuel L. [Jackson] got Tupac’s part,” said Clifford.

Shakur died at age 25, three years before the release of The Phantom Menace. Still, he left behind a body filmwork that included acclaimed performances in Juice, Gridlock’d and Poetic Justice, to name a few.