When the big announcement finally broke about the first wave of confirmed casting for **Star Wars: Episode VII, the world finally realised that after months of speculation, original trilogy stalwarts Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher would indeed return as Luke, Han and Leia. Hamill has opened up to the Orlando Sentinel about his feelings on stepping back into that galaxy far, far away…
Rumoured for a while to pick up the lightsaber again, Hamill admits there is definitely demand. “Look, I’m aware that a lot of people don’t care one way or another, but for the UPFs – the ultra passionate fans – they would come after me like the angry townspeople with torches in the old Frankenstein pictures. I would have a lot to answer for if I didn’t at least try to make the effort. It’s not like I had a choice. I feel like I was called up for service by the Selective Service.” We thought for a moment he meant the Secret Service, but for those unaware, the Selective Service is a US government agency that provides trained and untrained personnel to the department of defence in times of crisis… And surely an interstellar threat qualifies?
Though he admits he was happy to leave his Star Wars days in the past, he did enjoy reconnecting with old friends. “I hadn’t seen Tony Daniels or Carrie Fisher or Harrison Ford or Peter Mayhew in ages. It was wonderful to see them again, because I didn’t expect to. Again, this is all so unexpected. It’s like getting out that pair of pants you haven’t worn in five years and finding a 20-dollar bill in the pocket. Oh, this is nice.”
And he’s certainly been preparing for the role for a while. “I’ve altered my diet. I’ve started working out. There’s that. But on the film itself: I toured the departments, I’ve looked at wardrobe, and I saw the creature shop. I went around and met all the cast people, saw the technicians working on some new things.”
He won’t, however, be spilling any unauthorized secrets from the set. “This is a whole different world .The first one, no one cared. The second one there was a lot of interest, but it was before the Internet… I tell people we’re not trying to annoy you or tease you or play some massive game. Basically what the goal is to keep the surprises for the movie instead of spoiling them on the Internet.” You can read more from the actor right here.
Hamill will appear in the new film alongside fellow veterans Ford, Fisher, Daniels, Mayhew and Wars newcomers John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Gwendoline Christie and Max von Sydow. With J.J. Abrams directing, Star Wars: Episode VII will be out on December 18, 2015.