Jodie Foster has explained why she turned down the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars.

The Silence of the Lambs actress revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday that she said no to the iconic character back in the 1970s because she was already committed to another film.

“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,” she explained. “So, I didn’t do it and you know, they did an amazing job. I don’t know how good I would have been.”

The former child star did not reveal specifically which Disney movie she made instead of Star Wars, however, she starred in Disney’s Freaky Friday and Candleshoe around the time the sci-fi epic was released in 1977.

Princess Leia was ultimately portrayed by the late Carrie Fisher in the original. She reprised the role for several subsequent films – The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.

Referring to Princess Leia’s infamous side buns, Jodie joked, “I might have had different hair, you know. I might have gone with a pineapple (hairstyle).”

Fisher passed away in 2016 aged 60.

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