By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
While critics may hate their bobby vibe, NSYNC is arguably the best boy band in the world, especially when you consider the later cultural and musical influence of breakout star Justin Timberlake. Surprisingly, back when NSYNC was in their prime, this best of boy bands appeared in what might be the worst Star Wars movie. On a 2023 episode of Hot Ones, the band confirmed that they were originally going to appear in Attack of the Clones but that their cameo was ultimately cut out of the film.
Bye Bye Bye, NSYNC In Star Wars
Part of Hot Ones’ charm is the great questions posed by host Sean Evans, and in this episode, he eventually asked NSYNC about whether they starred in the second Star Wars prequel. He asked if they were really going to play Jedi Knights in the film, and Lance Bass pointed out that it wasn’t the entirety of the band that nearly made a cameo appearance…just Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, and Joey Fatone. However, Kirkpatrick immediately pointed out the obvious about their cameo: “it never made it to the screen.”
NSYNC members Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake recalled their annoyance at not getting the initial invite to appear in the second Star Wars prequel. “Me and Lance were so butthurt,” Timberlake said. That prompted Bass to offer a very evenhanded response: “they got cut out anyway, so it doesn’t even matter.”
NSYNC Got So Close To Star Wars
The fact that NSYNC nearly appeared in a Star Wars film sent ripples through the fan community years ago (more on this soon), but even most superfans don’t realize how close the boy band came to appearing in Attack of the Clones. They actually received fight training, the kind that would ensure they looked at least halfway convincing when thrust into the film’s climactic Battle of Geonosis. Joey Fatone sheepishly admitted that the training also sounded convincing because “when we were doing the scenes,” the musicians were “literally…going ‘voom voom’ like an idiot.”
Interestingly, the only reason that NSYNC was invited to appear in Attack of the Clones in the first place is that Star Wars producer Rick McCallum’s daughter was a huge fan of the band. The cameo was cut for two reasons, the first being SAG-AFTRA rules about extras. Joey Fatone later admitted that “Usually, they have to pay the SAG rights to it” and “We only signed a confidential thing — which we didn’t say anything — but they had to cut us out of it.”
While a bit fuzzy, Fatone’s tale helps explain why NSYNC didn’t appear in the second Star Wars prequel. Namely, that George Lucas and crew didn’t want to have any SAG-related drama. There was one other reason they got cut, though, and it was revealed by Fatone’s brother Steve back in 2015. Basically, the band’s appearance in Attack of the Clones was rumored well before the movie came out, and it generated such a backlash among fans that their appearance (complete with Jedi robes and padawan braids) was canceled altogether.
In hindsight, killing NSYNC’s Star Wars cameo was for the best. At the time, the fandom was already reeling from the poor quality of The Phantom Menace. After that first prequel, was much speculation about whether or not George Lucas had lost the creative vision that led him to create this famous galaxy far, far away in the first place. Fortunately, Lucas helped say “Bye, Bye, Bye” to that speculation by cutting the band out of the film altogether.
Source: People
