Mark Hamill has confirmed the rumor detailing the approach from LucasFilm to include the original Star Wars actors in the upcoming trilogy, while also expressing his own desire for the films to “go retro.”
Star Wars: Episode VII has been gaining rumor after rumor with each passing day. There are rumors of a Yoda spinoff, a Han Solo and Boba Fett spinoff, and finally rumors of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford reuniting for the relaunch of the franchise. Mark Hamill — who played Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy and has now become a formidable voice actor — has confirmed these rumors to be true via Screen Rant.
“They’re talking to us. George [Lucas] wanted to know heather we’d be interested. He did say that if we didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t cast another actor in our parts — they would write us out. I can tell you right away that we haven’t signed any contracts. We’re in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run LucasFilm.”
Episode VII would in all likelihood see Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford playing much older versions of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo. A theory has already spread across the net involving the “Legacy of the Force” storyline which picks up 40 years after the original trilogy. In essence, this would allow the new trilogy to pick up in real time.
Mark Hamill’s only hope is that director JJ Abrams utilizes the techniques he used in his Star Trek reboot: practical sets and props combined with limited CGI effects. For all its successes and failures, the prequel trilogy for Star Wars is seen as too CGI reliant (among other things).
“I hope they find the right balance of CGI with practical effects,” Hamill said. “I love props, I love models, miniatures, matte paintings — I’m sort of old school. I think if you go too far in the direction of CGI it winds up looking like a giant video game, and that’s unfortunate.”
In any case, Star Wars: Episode VII still has a ways to go, as it’s not scheduled for release until 2015. Hopefully, in the meantime, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford will hop back onboard and offer a taste of authenticity to an otherwise fallen franchise.
