Mark Hamill nearly died on location of Star Wars Episode VII
The Mirror UK is reporting that Mark Hamill — Luke Skywalker — nearly fell to his death, after slipping while climbing the uneven steps of Skellig Michael’s abandoned monastery, where it has been heavily rumored the last Jedi has taken residence and is living as a hermit, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. According to the site, the 63 year old actor slipped on the treacherous climb where two tourists have previously, tragically died. Thankfully, Hamill’s life was saved by the quick thinking and actions of the film crew’s guide from the Irish Office of Public Works, who jumped to the rescue and saved everyone’s favorite Skywalker.
Staying with Skellig Michael, it would appear that Rian Johnson is trying to get back to the remote and obviously dangerous island to film scenes for Star Wars Episode VIII, but Mother Nature has other plans. A report from the Irish Times says that the winds are too treacherous at this time, and are keeping boats away from the rocky outcroppings of the island’s shores.
"“High winds around Portmagee and Ballinskelligs saw filming of Star Wars: Episode VIII on the Unesco World heritage site of Skellig Michael cancelled on Monday morning, with the small boats which service the site refusing to go to sea.”"
Star Wars Episode 7 News is reporting that director Rian Johnson, who is helming Star Wars Episode VIII, has returned to UNESCO and the Skellig Michael area with a rather large crew, which only confirms all this news and rigamaroo…yes, I just said rigamaroo. Here’s what their contacts are saying:
"“A huge production crew for Star Wars VIII – the sequel to the film shot on the World Heritage Site last year – arrived in South Kerry on Tuesday and visited Skellig Michael… The director [Rian Johnson], producer [Ram Bergman], and head of photography [Steve Yedlin] for the blockbuster film – along with up to 30 pre-production crew, were ferried on to the island at around 2.30pm. The crew brought no equipment on board the boats with them, but it is understood that they were walking the island and taking pictures, and spent a number of hours surveying the area.”"
That’s exciting stuff, folks! It also semi-sort-of confirms the rumor that Mark Hamill is in fact a hermit in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and has made his home on some remote location filled with caves…much like Skellig Michael. It also means that Luke survives Episode VII, which is big news in itself, considering Harrison Ford’s demand to be killed off, and the ago of the original trilogy actors. Stay tuned, we still have a long way to go for Episode VIII, and less than three months for Episode VII.
H/T – Mirror UK, Irish Times, SW7News
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