Back in 2013, Ryan Gosling was looking for a commercial movie to break away from the “indie movie star” stereotype that he was confined in. The actor wanted to prove that he would be just as great in a commercial movie.

And Gosling’s hunt came just in time for the D23 fan convention where fans were excited to find out more details about J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars Episode VII. The speculations surrounding Ryan Gosling playing a part in Star Wars: Episode VII went absolutely wild.

Was Ryan Gosling going to be a part of Star Wars?

With its top-notch storytelling and effective marketing, Star Wars is one of the most popular multimedia franchises of all time. Therefore, when Latino Review wrote in 2013 that Ryan Gosling had a talk with Disney’s team about portraying Luke’s son, it became the talk of the town. According to the source, Gosling was not the only star ready to join the franchise.

High School Musical sweetheart Zac Efron and Jack from Titanic were also very keen to be a part of the franchise. But Efron and Leonardo DiCaprio retracted from the project due to prior engagements. And Gosling’s team told Huffington Post “this is not true” in regards to the Star Wars rumors.

Why did Gosling not appear in Star Wars?

Given how Ryan Gosling was all ready to take a long break from acting, fans had their doubts about him starring in Star Wars. The Notebook actor has been acting ever since he was thirteen. He has given us countless gems from Blue Valentine to Lard and the Real Girl. Therefore he opened up about wanting to take a break from the highlight in his interview with AP. And he did just that.

After announcing his break, Gosling tried his hand at directing with Lost River. The actor later in 2015 made his big comeback with The Big Short and things have only gone uphill for the Canadian star since then. And while we did not get to see Gosling return to his first home, Disney, we saw the actor in much more mind-blowing movies.

From La La Land to The Nice Guys, Ryan Gosling has proved that he doesn’t need a big movie franchise to call himself a star. The Academy award-winning actor is currently working on The Actor based on Donald E. Westlake’s book.

Do you think the actor would have been the right fit for the Star Wars franchise? Let us know in the comments below.