The classic Hollywood story, A Star is Born has pierced nearly every generation, with its dramatic story between a rising star being propelled into fame by a troubled big name who soon stumbles to his downfall. This generation's retelling will unmistakably be the electric musical collaboration between Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
Before the pair found the perfect on-screen partnership in each other for one of this year's most memorable films, quite a few other Hollywood names were rumored to be in talks about being a part of a remake for A Star is Born, including Jennifer Lopez and Will Smith. J-Lo recently told Extra why this version just wasn't written in the stars, with these words:
Will and I talked about it, talked about developing the script. It just never took off. Projects are like that.
Oh, what could have been! Jennifer Lopez certainly isn't taking that attitude toward the role that A Star is Born never was, as she continued by expressing how proud she is of her friend Bradley Cooper's directorial debut along with the incredible performance Lady Gaga brought to the role of Ally. Lopez said she thinks everything has its own "divine" timing and the 2018 A Star is Born turned out perfect.
That's not to say Jennifer Lopez couldn't pull off a dazzling performance in A Star is Born version. The actress memorably played Queen of Tejano music Selena Quintanilla in 1997's Selena which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for. Along with Lopez's many acting credits, she is also a chart-topping pop star herself.
Will Smith as the Jackson Maine character instead of Bradley Cooper might have been a good choice too. Considering Smith is best known for his rap music; their A Star is Born might have tackled the hip-hop landscape and have produced original tracks much more suited for pop radio than the emotional stripped-down tracks such as "Shallow" and "I'll Never Love Again" found in the recent release.
Since the project with Jennifer Lopez and Will Smith never went past early talks, there really is no way of knowing what it could have been, or it would be dominating award season conversation as the new one likely will. When A Star is Born was in development hell, many other stars were attached, with Beyoncé set to star and Clint Eastwood as director at one point . Bradley Cooper also recently revealed that he had his eye on White Stripes' rocker Jack White to take on his role at some point when he took the helm.
There is something completely uniquely special about A Star is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. It was a project that both the stars were completely all in on and it highlights their talent in a way we've never seen them before and has given this generation an especially beautiful iteration of a timeless tale.
