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Mark Hamill Hasn’t Watched ‘Star Wars’ In A Very Long Time

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 06:46 PST, May 20, 2016

Star Wars fans may go back to watching the films on a regular basis, but they were recently surprised to learn that one of the core actors in the original trilogy, Mark Hamill, hasn’t joined them in viewing the iconic movies in an almost unbelievably long stretch of time.

Hamill has long been an active presence on social media, more so lately with the release of The Force Awakens and his much deeper involvement in Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is currently in the midst of production. Earlier this week, the actor responsible for portraying Luke Skywalker revealed on Twitter a seemingly simple fact that nonetheless took many Star Wars fans by surprise: namely, that he hasn’t watched the films that made him a household name in almost two decades.

While some fans may take issue with the special edition versions of the films, Hamill noted that he hasn’t watched the original Star Wars trilogy in any form at home, apparently preferring to view them exclusively in theaters. When one fan inquired of Hamill when he last saw the much-maligned prequel trilogy, the actor also noted that he only viewed Episodes I, II, and III in the theater, again choosing to never see them in a home environment, as Mashable notes.

Plenty of actors are averse to watching their own performances, particularly those who find themselves in iconic films like Star Wars. What may be crucial for fans to realize in Hamill’s case, however, is that he isn’t necessarily avoiding the original Star Wars trilogy out of a distaste for the films, or even a desire to avoid the past. Instead, his tweets seem to suggest that Hamill simply hasn’t watched the films because he prefers to see them in a theatrical context. As CinemaBlend notes, the Star Wars movies aren’t exactly small in scale, and were designed to be a massive theatrical experience. It makes sense that Hamill wouldn’t want to dilute the experience for himself by watching the original trilogy and the prequels at home, even if a devoted worldwide Star Wars fandom does so on a fairly regular basis.

While Hamill may not be watching the previous Star Wars films as a refresher for his involvement in the current sequel trilogy, recent rumors have emerged that seem to point to a much larger role for the actor in Star Wars: Episode VIII. Hamill notoriously returned as Luke Skywalker only in the final moments of The Force Awakens; yet, if on-set reports are be believed, he will play a far more integral part in the new trilogy’s middle act. In the last few weeks, a rumor emerged online that the island of Skellig Michael, which doubled as Luke’s home-in-exile, saw active filming complete with pyrotechnics, suggesting that an action scene of some kind takes place there during the course of Episode VIII.

A purported plot outline for Episode VIII also made its way online in recent weeks, as the Inquisitr previously reported, though its veracity has yet to be established. If it proves to be genuine, it could point to an active role for Hamill in the next Star Wars film, not simply as a mentor to Daisy Ridley’s Rey, but also as a re-emergent Jedi master himself. Though the authenticity of the outline cannot be proved at this time, its release closely mirrors similar revelations made during the production of The Force Awakens, as an outline proving to be 99 percent accurate leaked online prior to the release of that film. Fans will have to wait more than a year, however, to see exactly what role Mark Hamill will play in Star Wars: Episode VIII, as the film won’t be released until December 15, 2017.

[Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP]

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