The Hidden Royal Cameo You Missed In Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Back in 2016, Princes William and Harry endeared themselves to a whole generation of Star Wars fans when they were shown around The Last Jedi film set and even indulged in a lightsaber battle (via YouTube). As Elle notes, aside from meeting the cast and getting to play with various toys, the royal brothers also attended the 2017 premiere of The Last Jedi and were photographed with lovable robot BB8. Evidently, the boys are fans of the long-running sci-fi series and aren't afraid of showing it, either. 

However, they're more than just lifelong Star Wars nerds. Rumors abounded that William and Harry had followed in the footsteps of actor Tom Hardy; James Bond himself, Daniel Craig; and Take That star Gary Barlow by featuring in The Last Jedi as stormtroopers. Naturally, since the beloved royals were hidden under the iconic black-and-white helmets, spotting them proved difficult. As it turns out, you wouldn't have been able to catch their cameo even if you were really looking for it.

As The Hollywood Reporter reported, franchise star John Boyega spilled the beans during an actor roundtable, confirming it was a "great experience" shooting with the royals. Sources confirmed Hardy, Barlow, William, and Harry all featured in the same scene, which found them riding an elevator alongside Boyega's character, Finn.

The princes were gifted stormtrooper helmets at the film's premiere, as Kensington Palace confirmed on Twitter. However, according to the Daily Mail, they didn't make the final cut since the brothers are too tall to be stormtroopers, who are legally required to be 5'11" (William and Harry are 6'3" and 6'1" respectively). During an interview on ITV's This Morning, Boyega joked that he'd personally apologized to them, with William reportedly quipping, "I probably just need to work more on the skill," in response (via Screen Rant). 

However, the deleted footage has since leaked online, showing the princes in the movie alongside Hardy, Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran's Rose, and Benicio Del Toro's DJ. The scene was later featured as an outtake on the DVD release of The Last Jedi. Hardy's 'trooper even has an exchange with Finn, though the royals remain quiet. But you can spot them by their height, since William and Harry tower over the other guards in the scene (as seen above).

They clearly made an impression during their short time on set. Del Toro told Radio Times in 2017 that he enjoyed working with the lads on the scene, noting, "They were very nice — Prince William was funny, and Harry as well."