By means of Chris Snellgrove
| PUBLISHED
While critics may hate their bobby vibe, NSYNC may be the best boy band in the world, especially when you consider the late cultural and musical influence of breakout star Justin Timberlake. Ironically, when NSYNC was at their peak, this best boy band ever appeared in what was probably the worst Star Wars movie ever. In a 2023 episode of Heatsthe band confirmed that they would originally appear Attack of the Clones but that their cameo was ultimately cut from the film.
Bye Bye Bye, NSYNC In Star Wars
Part of Heats‘ The beauty is the good questions asked by the host Sean Evans, and in this episode, he finally asked NSYNC if they starred in the second Star Wars prequel. He asked if they would actually be playing the Jedi Knights in the film, and Lance Bass pointed out that it wasn’t the entire band that was about to make a cameo appearance…Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, and Joey Fatone. However, Kirkpatrick was quick to point out the obvious about their cameo: “it never made it to the screen.”
NSYNC members Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake recalling their dismay at not getting the first invitation to appear in the second Star Wars prequel. “Me and Lance are very butthurt,” Timberlake said. That prompted Bass to offer an excellent answer: “they’re still cut, so it doesn’t matter.”
NSYNC Is Close To Star Wars
The fact that NSYNC almost appeared in a Star Wars film sent ripples through the fan community years ago (more on this soon), but even most superfans didn’t realize how close the boy band appeared to Attack of the Clones. They’ve actually received combat training, the kind that will ensure they look even halfway convincing when pushed to the film’s climactic Battle of Geonosis. Joey Fatone sheepishly admits that the training was also convincing because “when we were doing the scenes,” the musicians were “literally…voom voom’ like an idiot.”
Interestingly, the only reason NSYNC was invited to perform Attack of the Clones The first is that the daughter of Star Wars producer Rick McCallum is a big fan of the band. The cameo was cut for two reasons, the first being SAG-AFTRA rules regarding extras. Joey Fatone later admitted that “Basically, they should have paid SAG rights to it” and “We just signed a confidential thing – that we didn’t say anything – but they had to cut us out of it.”
Although a little fuzzy, Fatone’s story helps explain why NSYNC didn’t appear in the second Star Wars prequel. Namely, that George Lucas and crew didn’t want any SAG-related drama. There was another reason they broke up, though, and it was revealed by Fatone’s brother Steve in 2015. Basically, the band’s appearance in Attack of the Clones It was rumored well before the movie came out, and it created such a backlash among fans that their appearance (complete with Jedi robes and padawan braids) was canceled entirely.
Visually, killing NSYNC’s Star Wars cameo is the best. At that time, the fandom was fed up with the poor quality of the The Phantom Menace. After the first prequel, there was much speculation as to 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 from the film entirely.
Source: People
