‘State Of Shock’: Mark Hamill Opens Up About His Return To The Star Wars Franchise

Of all the Star Wars news that seems like it will be trickling out every two weeks up until the day of release, the return of the original cast seems to be the one that has truly seal the deal with fans. Mark Hamill has been seen recently sporting a beard for his upcoming return as Luke Skywalker, but he is looking a little more like Star War’s Obiwan Kenobi.

Though his recent change in facial hair gives us an unintentional look into Star Wars: The Force Awakens, other than explaining that he is not a “beard person,” he still can not actually speak about the plot. In fact, the set of Star Wars has been quite secretive. According to the Chicago Sun Times, the actors have to wear robes on set. No, not the typical Jedi robes that Luke wore in Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi. The reason for these non-jedi robes? “The drones”!

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been on a movie set where if you go from your trailer to a soundstage, you have to put on an enormous robe with a hood that hangs down over your head. I asked one of the production assistants, ‘What’s this all about.’ They told me, ‘Oh, it’s because of the drones,’ flying overhead, taking photographs of people walking to the soundstage.”

According to Entertainment Weekly, his return to Star Wars has been an emotional one. He described his current feeling as a “state of shock,” for which he has not gotten over yet. Apparently, one of the reasons for this is that George Lucas himself stated that there would not be anymore Star Wars films. Mark Hamill explained that Lucas told him that he “would not be exploring the world beyond the events of Return of the Jedi.”

He also said that he spent most of his life, after the Star Wars trilogy, “coming down from that.” Hamill, who has spent most of career voice acting which includes providing the voice for cartoon versions of the Joker, has been busy in live-action as of late. According to the Inquisitr, he is to reprise his 1990’s role as the Trickster in CW’s new version of The Flash.

Mark Hamill explained that he is currently trying to be more appreciative of the success of the Star Wars franchise, but it has more to do with his age at the time versus his current age of 63, and the start of his career versus now having an established career. He explained it in his own words to Entertainment Weekly.

“Oh my God, this time I’m going to appreciate it in a way I wasn’t able to as a young man. The fact that it is so special to so many people … it’s hard to believe you could take something for granted like that. That’s probably not the best way to express what it was. We knew it was special, but [returning for the new trilogy] reminded me of taking out a pair of trousers from the back of the closet and discovering a $20 bill in the pocket.”

He expressed that his favorite part of returning to Luke Skywalker and the new Star Wars was the fans reactions. Mark Hamill’s daughter had recently brought him a video that showed a split screen of fans and the new trailer. Hamill expressed “what a thrill it was” to see how happy the fans were with the trailer alone.

[Image Via This Is Infamous]