On Saturday night, Mark Hamill held court at the Star Wars Celebration, where he discussed how he became involved in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The actor who became an icon with his portrayal of Luke Skywalker was contacted by George Lucas and told about the new trilogy.
“It’s not like a choice. It’s like I was drafted.” A new Star Wars trilogy would not be the same, sans Hamill and the other original cast members. In fact, I would argue that in order to move forward chronologically, the older Star Wars cast members’ characters must have closure to their stories, so that a new story can be born.
That’s not to say that characters like Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie need to die, but the actors are getting older, and there is only so much more they can do. Introducing characters like Kylo Ren and Rey, who many feel are the children of either Luke, or Hand and Leia, will set the foundation for many movies to come. That’s without mentioning Finn, Poe, and Captain Phasma, who I am sure will much larger roles to play in the new trilogy.
Hamill went on to discuss his decision to reprise his role.
"“Could you imagine if for some reason I said ‘I don’t think I want to do it?’ I would have all of you surrounding my house like villagers, angry villagers with lightsabers instead of torches.”"
He’s not wrong. Star Wars without a Skywalker (Anakin or Luke), would be an empty shell of a movie, devoid of one of the greatest characters George Lucas ever created. Despite the fact that the Expanded Universe has been scrapped for a new canon from Disney, Luke still has a lot to do, before joining his father, Yoda, and Obi-Wan in the ether of the Force’s great beyond.
Lucas called Hamill and invited him to lunch, and Hamill’s wife guessed, correctly I might add, that there was a new movie in the works. And, when the actor’s daughter was uninvited to the lunch, he knew something big was about to happen. When he was told that J.J. Abrams would be the man at the helm of the new movie, Hamill was apprehensive.
“I was a little suspicious because he was a ‘Star Trek’ guy.“However, Hamill’s apprehension has dissipated, as Abrams earned the respect of the original cast, by use of practical effects, and his love and dedication to the Star Wars universe. This line of thought was first mentioned on day one of the Star Wars Celebration, when Abrams told the packed crowd at The Force Awakens Panel, that he’s been a huge Star Wars fan, his entire life.
The two Star Wars: the Force Awakens trailers have proven that J.J. Abrams has been true to his word, in regards to bringing the practical effects back to Star Wars, and I simply cannot wait for December.
Source for some quotes: Fox News