Mark Hamill Describes How He Was Recruited for The Force Awakens

In an appearance at Salt Lake City Comic Con, which was recorded and uploaded to YouTube, Mark Hamill revealed how he was recruited for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He said it happened four years ago during a lunch with George Lucas. The original Star Wars cast had gathered in Florida for the Star Wars Celebration.

Hamill's wife thought there was something fishy about Lucas's behavior and told Mark she thought he might be ready to announce a new Star Wars movie. Mark said he laughed at this suggestion because Lucas had told him "‘We're not going to be doing any more. I don't want to be doing these things in my 70s."

Hamill's wife had the last laugh, however. Lucas's announced that he'd turned Star Wars over to Disney and there was going to be a new trilogy. He told the original cast that they'd likely be asked to join in, but said they could refuse if they wanted to. He promised anyone who refused wouldn't be recast, just written out.

Hamill said he tried to keep a poker face during the announcement, even though as he said, "I felt like someone had hit me in the stomach really hard". Carrie Fisher had no such restraint, shouting "I'm in!" " I said, 'Carrie, Poker face! Poker face! Talk to your agent first!'" Hamill reminisced.

Hamill discussed some other Star Wars-related things, such as how he had to keep quiet about his involvement in The Force Awakens for a long time. However, he believes that such secrecy is important to the fun of being a fan. "They're not doing it to annoy you, they just want the surprise to be in the movie theaters, not the Internet. You don't want to know what you're getting for your birthday! So I understand why they're doing it."

You can see the full talk with Hamill in the video below:

What do you think of Hamill's story? Do you agree that being surprised is the best way to experience things in the theatre?

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