‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ — Why It Could Become The Biggest Hit Of The Franchise


Star Wars Episode VIII is shrouded in secrecy, but one thing is for sure, this Star Wars episode will become the biggest hit of them all. It is the most tightly guarded sequel ever to one of two longest-running space operas in movie history, and for a good reason.

In a very clever way, Mark Hamill AKA Luke Skywalker, recently managed to evade the security Storm Troopers to bring us this news. The script simply makes him laugh out loud and roll all over the floor. And not only that, Skywalker tells us that he can’t stop seeing in his Jedi mind all those dialogues of the film being thrown around — ending up in t-shirts once Episode 8 is out in theaters.

And here’s another reveal from Hamill, according to The Telegraph: “some of the reshoots towards the end of production on A New Hope were to adjust his character’s surname, which was Starkiller in George Lucas’s original script.”

Starkiller instead of Skywalker? You be the judge: Which do you think is the better monicker for Luke’s character? Whatever, it’s just great to see Mark Hamill having a lot of fun with shooting Star Wars. As everyone probably knows, the actor broke his nose and left cheekbone in a car accident on January 11, 1977, according to Business Insider.

As expected, the road to recovery was long, as Hamill’s facial reconstruction had to do with having a “cartilage taken from his ear to rebuild his nose.”

Luckily, in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker would be mauled by a Wampa “which digs its claws into his face and then drags Skywalker and his Tauntaun back to its cave.”

So moviegoers easily accepted their idol’s altered face. Still, it cannot be taken out of the accident experience that Mark Hamill was affected by the mishap which likewise affected the mood of the actor’s exploding fan base when Star Wars: A New Hope opened in theaters on May 25, 1977.

Fast-forward to the present time, it’s great to see how much fun Hamill is having completing Star Wars: Episode VIII with his original cast members like Carrie Fisher of Princess Leia fame or is it General Organa now? Indeed, time heals everything. Hamill even has so many funny things to say about Fisher who, of course, plays her sister in Star Wars.

“I emailed her about a month ago and said we should go to Madame Tussauds and pose with each other’s wax figures…And she never got back to me. Then one day I went on the internet and there she is at the wax museum all by herself. She took my idea and did it without me.”

It’s amazing how even in real life, Carrie carries traces of her Princess Leia attitude of being always independent and doing things on her own. Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars character certainly takes after the princess. By the way, Hamill also reveals that there is an underwater scene or scenes in Star Wars: Episode VIII which is why both him and Daisy had to have some scuba diving training prior to the shooting of the film.

A great script was the lifeline of all the original Star Wars films from A New Hope to Return of the Jedi. With this ingredient obviously being resurrected based on Mark Hamill’s most recent reveal to Telegraph, it will not be surprising if Star Wars: Episode 8 becomes the franchise’s biggest money-maker ever, eclipsing even the box office success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The script is one of the reasons why Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams regrets not directing the next episode of the science fiction saga, according to International Business Times. The directorial torch for Star Wars: Episode VIII has indeed been passed on to Rian Johnson who directed the hit AMC series Breaking Bad. Meanwhile, Star Wars: Episode IX will be directed by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow. Episode VIII has a show date of December 15, 2017, in the USA.

[Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images]

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