The 93rd Academy Awards took place last night, and the Oscars In Memoriam video paying tribute to those we’ve lost snubbed two Star Wars legends. The Oscars could’ve easily done a longer In Memoriam video this year, but they instead decided to speed things up and leave several actors out entirely.
While the In Memoriam video for the 2021 Oscars was able to properly highlight big figures like Chadwick Boseman and Sean Connery, as well as some in lesser-known industry positions like hairstylists and animators, the choices made for the segment have received heavy criticism.
Among the many names snubbed from the final video were Jeremy Bulloch and Dave Prowse, both of whom are iconic Star Wars actors from the original trilogy that passed in late 2020. It was one of many hiccups at this year’s Oscars ceremony.
WATCH: Oscars In Memoriam Snubs Include Original Star Wars Actors
The 93rd Academy Awards tried to take a moment to honor those members of the film industry that we’ve lost over the last year, but their seemingly rushed attempt left many names out. The full video can be seen above, but you’ll have to read fast to catch all the names and realize who was missing.
The tone already felt off when the music choice turned out to be “As” by Stevie Wonder, a surprisingly upbeat choice which Academy Award-winning producer Christopher Miller commented about on Twitter. “This year’s Oscars In Memoriam played accidentally at podcast 1.5x speed,” Miller said on Twitter.
Naya Rivera, Jessica Walter, and Adam Schlesinger were three big names left out that have drawn significant backlash, according to Buzzfeed. The two big snubs to Star Wars fans were original trilogy actors Dave Prowse and Jeremy Bulloch.
Dave Prowse and Jeremy Bulloch Receive Minor Acknowledgement as Part of Oscars In Memoriam Website Gallery
THIERRY ZOCCOLAN/AFP via Getty ImagesDavid Prowse standing with a fan dressed as Darth Vader at a Star Wars convention in 2013.
While Prowse and Bulloch were far from the only names left out of the In Memoriam segment at the 93rd Academy Awards, they did at least get some recognition as part of the In Memoriam gallery on the Oscars website, which can be seen here. The link for the larger gallery wasn’t shown until the final seconds of the In Memoriam video.
Dave Prowse, Jeremy Bulloch, and previously mentioned snubs Jessica Walter and Adam Schlesinger were all included on the website gallery which only shows a name, industry role, and single photo for most of those in the gallery. A few entries have no photo shown, but Prowse and Bulloch were given a photo.
David “Dave” Prowse is most well-known for portraying Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, and Jeremy Bulloch was the first man to portray Boba Fett. However, neither of the two men actually had their voice in the final cut, as both characters had other actors later record the voices.
James Earl Jones became the iconic voice of Darth Vader in the original trilogy, but Boba Fett ended up having two different voice actors. According to The Atlantic, Jason Wingreen voiced Boba Fett in the original release, but was later replaced in a re-release of the trilogy by Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and later portrayed Boba Fett in The Mandalorian.
ABC Executive Rob Mills Responds to Oscars Backlash by Saying ‘It Was a Calculated Risk’
On top of the criticism of the In Memoriam at the 93rd Academy Awards, the night’s other big miscue came when the categories were shifted to end with Best Actor only for someone not present at the awards to win. According to the New York Post, the decision to end the night with Best Actor rather than the traditional Best Picture was likely made under the belief that Chadwick Boseman would posthumously win Best Actor for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things turned out, as it was Anthony Hopkins who took home the Best Actor prize and wasn’t present to give an acceptance speech. In the speech, seen here via Good Morning America, Hopkins was brief and chose to pay tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman during his acceptance.
Speaking to Variety, ABC Executive VP of Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment Rob Mills commented on the way the night ended. “It was not meant to end on somebody who was not present,” Mills said. “It was a calculated risk, that I think still paid off because everybody was talking about it.”
In the same interview with Variety, Mills also responded to criticism of the In Memoriam video that was shown. “The In Memoriam is always a tough nut to crack,” Mills said. “This year we chose to focus on honoring those who we have lost rather than a performance. Once a song was chosen, they timed the pace to the tempo.”
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