Adria Arjona 'so thankful' she missed out on Solo: A Star Wars Story

If you recognise Adria Arjona as the stubborn yet endearing Bix Caleen from both seasons of Andor, you might assume her route into Star Wars was pretty straightforward. Not quite. Turns out, before she joined one of the best-reviewed shows in the modern franchise, she nearly got her start in a much more notorious corner of the galaxy.

Adria Arjona nearly played Qi'ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story, after auditioning on-camera with Alden Ehrenreich in front of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

The Qi'ra What-If

While chatting on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Arjona let slip that several years before landing her role on Andor, she actually came close to being cast as Qi'ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story. She got pretty far down the audition road, even turning up with Alden Ehrenreich for a screen test — while Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who, if you remember, were actually fired partway through production) were still at the helm.

Arjona admitted she was buzzing with nerves, recalling that the whole experience of donning the suit and meeting childhood dreams — just having a shot at really being in Star Wars — was surreal. She said she wasn't thinking about sequels or career moves, just whether she'd get to be part of that universe at all, and the idea of leading a Star Wars film seemed utterly mad.

Of course, we know how it panned out. Emilia Clarke got the gig, the film went on to become the franchise’s first proper box office wipe-out, and any hope of follow-ups vanished instantly. Funnily enough, Arjona is now, in hindsight, quite relieved it didn't work out:

In her words on the podcast: 'I'm so thankful I didn't get it. I wouldn't have been in Andor, and Bix is the only character I have tattooed on my body.'

A bit of luck, then, as Andor has become arguably the high-water mark for Star Wars on Disney+, if you ask me or any critic with a pulse.

Onslaught and What’s Next

Outside the galaxy far, far away, Arjona is keeping busy with Onslaught, the new action-horror from Adam Wingard. In this one, she plays Celeste, an army sniper fighting for her daughter's survival against a horde of souped-up, genetically engineered soldiers who've broken free from a shady military lab.

Sounds promising, right? Our own Chris Bumbray certainly thought so at the start, but the film lost him somewhere between the build-up and the supposed epic showdown. He reckons the final act doesn't land the punch it promises, calling it a decent watch that doesn't quite hit the heights it aims for. Still, if you're itching for something with some grit — or just want to see Arjona showing off action chops — it might be worth a punt.