Updated With Video. Mark Hamill Talks The Millennium Falcon, The Force Awakens Secrecy and More!
While promoting his latest movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, the fans’ favorite actor briefly touched on the secrecy surrounding the new Star Wars movie, and explained what it feels like being back on the Millennium Falcon!
(January 16, 2015)
From Comingsoon:
“The most interesting aspect from my point of view is that [Star Wars] is now in the hands of the generation who were fans,” Hamill said. “…It’s the next generation of filmmakers who were sort of weened on these pictures.”
Although he seems delighted by the opportunity to reprise his Luke Skywalker role, Hamill admitted that he was a little surprised by the extreme level of secrecy during production.
“You know, the security on it is just crazy,” he continued. “I’m surprised I can even admit I’m in it! …I like being surprised. It’s a whole different era now. When we made the original films, you had the odd reporter hanging around the studio bribing people to give them stories. Now, I said to them, ‘Do I really have to wear this robe and this hood that covers my entire head to go from the trailer to the soundstage?’ They said, ‘Yeah, there’s drones.’ Seriously! There’s drones flying over the studio trying to get pictures of whatever they can get pictures of.”
“We had a little of that on ‘Empire Strikes Back,” Hamill laughed. “We were up in Finse, Norway and [someone] bribed a couple of emergency helicopter pilots that were looking for a couple that were stranded while skiing to buzz-bomb our set and take pictures. They appeared in the newspaper The Sun. They didn’t get much. They had pictures of snowmobiles and they wrote ‘Strange, alien machinery on the set of ‘Star Wars 2′!’ as they called it. It was crazy! It was just snowmobiles with really identifiable logos on the side.”
Luke Skywalker in all his glory in a new Star Wars movie? December 18, 2015 can’t come quick enough.
UPDATE!
(January 17, 2015)
In another interview with “Extra TV”, Mark Hamill explained what it feels like to be back on the Millennium Falcon:
Hamill is reprising his iconic role as Luke Skywalker in this next installment directed by J.J. Abrams, and although the actor couldn’t reveal anything of major note, he did say it was “surreal” being back in the Star Wars universe.
Mark said, “I can’t describe the feeling… the déjà vu of walking onto the Millennium Falcon, remembering all these details that they’ve gotten exactly right… It still seems surreal to me and hard to believe it’s actually happening.”
He added, “It was interesting to see it helmed by someone who is such a fan of the originals like J.J. Abrams. It’s really about setting up for a new generation.”
Also check out Mark’s message to George Lucas in the video below:
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
He is the best!
what, exactly, does he have to say about the new generation, except that they exist?
So he had to cover his Jedi robe and hood with another robe and hood?
Just throw on a sombrero and throw everyone off
haha thought the same.
Ahahahahaha that’s great!!!
i feel like he is part of my family, like my dad or something, he’s such a cool guy, him being luke again is what gets me more excited about TFA! #Nerd
That’s why I believe someone on the Abu Dhabi set leaked those photos easily.
Because of the location and no onecan keep an eye on everyone on that set.
The concept art leaks done on purpose.
Spoilerman was a fake. Giving out a fake script that was his downfall.
Has anyone considered that spoilerman may be working with JJ in giving out false rumors? With the supposedly high level of security it might not be so bad to suggest that maybe the starwars7 team created the concept of spoilerman to try to fk with people’s mind – just so that people won’t be able to tell whether any rumor is plausible or not
Still can’t get the edit to work today.
I’m loving that they are so secretive about the movie, simply because I don’t have the willpower to stop reading spoilers sometimes. I went into ROTS totally spoiled and regretted it, and vowed to stay spoiler free for TFA. Its great that I can visit this website everyday and get my SW fix without really reading anything revealing about TFA that may ruin it come December. Its essentially the best of both worlds!
I’m right there with you!!! I want to get that same shock value I had as a kid when I first saw TESB and Darth revealed his true identity to Luke. As a kid the world was still undiscovered and everything new and unexpected was exciting. Now, as an adult, when I read spoilers then watch the movies I’m kinda like, “Yup, I knew that was gonna happen, what’s next?” Stay strong brother/ sister! It’ll all be worth it come December!!! 😀
what was there about ROTS that really spoiled it for you before you saw it? besides the fact that we all already knew what was going to happen in that movie since 1983? lol OMG!!! Anakin turns to the darkside the jedi are on the run and Padme gives birht to twins? who would have thought!? Actually my experience with ROTS was awesome. I read the Novel before i saw the movie.and i am glad that i did…it made me understand what was going on more. that movie was rushed and they left A TON of shit out of it, and alot of scenes were confusing because of the way they edited and left things out. for example. the scene where Yoda is meditating makes no sense in the movie at the end….but if you read the book, you would know that he was talking to qui-gon. which btw i guess the guys who produced the clone wars forgot about those parts of revenge of the sith. in the book and in the movie, yoda isnt contacted by qui-gon until after Annie becomes Vader….in the fuckin cartoon. YEARS AFTER THE MOVIE WAS RELEASED. annie helps yoda escape the hospital so yoda can go off on his mission and follow qui-gon to dagobah…dumbest shit ever,,,,and noone calls them out on it.
I get what you’re saying that we all knew what eventually would happen in ROTS, but I knew scene by scene what would happen. I remember reading a detailed leaked script and I knew it started with a big space battle, then to Dooku vs Obiwan/Anakin, etc. I was sitting in the theater and I was one step ahead of the movie knowing which exact scene was coming next, and it sort of ruined my enjoyment compared to Episode I & II where I went in cold turkey and enjoyed them more.
Some people like to be spoiled (as you said it actually made it a better experience by reading the book first), but others like me enjoy walking in wondering how this whole movie will play out despite knowing the fates of the characters.
Its like watching a TV show where you know the main character isn’t going to die, but its still enjoyable going in cold turkey having no idea where the show is headed.
Best experience =
1st viewing – watch on big screen spoiler free.
2nd ‘viewing’ – read the book. View through imagination and connecting to first viewing.
3rd viewing – watch on big screen again.
4th viewing – watch on big screen again!
Repeat till satisfied or no more money
$$$$$$$???? Oh then I’m sneeking in!!!!
I actually got a copy of the leaked Workprint and watched it on my TV ages before it was in cinemas
I agree, it was confusing, but I like the TCW version a lot more. It makes Qui-Gonn’s understanding of the force and time even more profound since it appears earlier.
I was just thinking to myself hypothetically that if I was gay (which I`m not) but just say for arguments sake I was. Mark Hamill would be my perfect ideal man in every way possible, he`s who I would choose given the choice. But I`m straight and married. Its just a thought.
Unlike…………………………………………………Now jarjar? Please….take him!!!
Y’know, I grew up idolizing Luke Skywalker. My mom helped me make a Halloween costume just like his one year. And when you made that comment, something struck me…
Maybe you’re gay
“What do you think, do you think a guy like me could ever–??”
Mark: “– No.”
Great article – always love hearing what Mark has to say:}
I’m hoping that Abrams does for Star Wars what he did in his Star Trek reboot. I mean this in the sense that that movie was really fun to watch and has great replayability!
Luke Skywalker lives! Can’t wait!
Was just reading at CinemaBlend that a second teaser for ‘The Force Awakens’, this time featuring Han, Luke and Leia, is going to be released with ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, in May..
http://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2015/01/star-wars-the-force-awakens-trailer-to-be-released-with-the-avengers-age-of-ultron.html
It’s so satisfying to see such an awesome guy like Mark Hamill getting to be part of the biggest movie in the world again. If you haven’t seen it, watch the Dinner For 5 episode with him, JJ Abrams, Stan Lee, John Favreau and Kevin Smith. Whoever put that together must have a goddamn crystal ball because it was from over 10 years ago before Disney/Lucasfilm/Marvel and Hamill talks about Star Wars like he still felt he had unfinished business in the universe. Now we are months away from a totally new film that is being treated with the reverence it deserves. So amazing!
Even if the movie somehow fails to deliver at least we got a years worth of hype and wonderful interviews to keep us going.
They can’t really bring Luke Skywalker back by halves- either he’s in it or he’s not..
dude…
Just look at him. He is pure star wars.
Having him in the movie brings a lot OT feeling in it.That can compensate many possible
plot or script weakness. Not to mention Ford and Fisher…
Love Hamill, But man I hope they trimmed those 3inch eyebrow hairs in the movie…superficial I might sound…but damn those are distracting as hell for me
I hope Luke has one more ride on thé falcon before hé dies.
Hamill is awesome with star wars and sci fi community. He does a cool Yoda voice and Joker voice. Also he is really cool in interviews
Setting it up for a new generation seems to imply we might not see the original cast in the next two films (or more). Which OK I guess, as long as the new actors can pull it off and I believe not many can nowadays. All acting is the same, wooden and aggressive is all they seem to know. Fingers crossed it will be diverse and entertaining.
He doesn’t mention filming there, he just mentions going on the set
His stutter there,
Mark: “When I — wait can I say this?…yes, I can say this…”
I find that little “wait can I say this” interesting.
He second guessed whether or not JJ was cool with him saying he was on the ‘Falcon,
why would you second guess mentioning a quick visit?
Kevin Smith didn’t say “wait, maybe I shouldn’t mention this”
Why should Mark question it if he was only visiting??
He’s Hiding Something.
Agreed.
His character will walk again through Millennium Falcon…
I hope he does go on the Falcon again, that would be amazing.
I know this is grasping at straws… but I see his hair is still pretty long… I wonder if that’s an indication that he’s keeping it that way for episode 8? It looks like otherwise he keeps his hair short.
It won’t film for another 18 months, so I think it’s too soon to say.
that drones comment felt so cool to me. it makes me feel like were actually in the future and were starting to live in a primitive star wars universe. its crazy and amazing to live in a time where the real luke skywalker is hiding from flying robots
notice that luke only is inside the falcon in ANH and for a short time in the end of TESB
Uh, is a Revenge of the Sith novel considered Canon, or is it ONLY the movie itself? Someone was mentioning that reading the novel helped understand the prequel triology. I’m willing to do that if it will *help* my enjoyment of that triology.
Play the ROTS Video-Game! Anakin is not a “emo” but is a real badass in this game, and the plot is much better, he not turn to the dark side because of Padme, but because of his lust for power and disbelif in the jedi order, also he hunt and kill a lot of jedi and have a real fight with mace windu and kill him (unlike the movie where the emperor kill him) and he is really powerfull and have many abilities and when obi-wan defeat him makes much more sense to him to hate obi because he made anakin lose all his power!
FOR ME this game is canon and take the place of the movie lol
and there even one alternate ending…
What is the name of this game? Sounds awesome.
Please give more details…
I remember thinking that Anakin’s character was fleshed out more completely in the ROTS video game than in the movie too. Sad, but true.
Also, the game was apparently made before all of the sound effects for the movie clips were done, so we also get to see how much more menacing the super battledroids would have been without the goofy cartoon voices Burtt gave them. The clips of them entering the hangar and looking for Artoo are a LOT more effective than the actual movie scene was, simply because of the lack of battledroid dialogue.
Just have to love hamill. Im so pleased he seems the nicest, humble guy in any universe. People use to say his acting wasnt the greatest, but one thing over the years that has become very apparent is that nhe put a tremendous amount of heart into luke skywalker, and that translated into the films. His scenes with yoda on dagobah are awesome. He was fully invested in the dream and fantasy of star wars. I hope in ep 7 and beyond he is BADASS, the greatest jedi of all