Last week, subscription video on demand service Comic Con HQ announced the development of a new series titled MarkHamill's Pop Culture Quest. In a nutshell, the show follows the 64-year-old actor as he explores some of the world's most remarkable pop culture collections. Created by Comic-Con International and Lionsgate, the show will have the actor collecting collectors.
Well, this week, in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Luke Skywalker actor is speaking up about how the show came to be, as well as how he'll be balancing it along with the rest of his other projects including Batman: The Killing Joke, and most especially Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Apparently, while the actor's role as Luke in last year's The Force Awakens was probably the shortest appearance of a main character in a film, it was only calm before the storm.
Asked about his vision for the show, Hamill mentioned being approached for other shows in the past, as well as how Return of the Jedi producer Howard Kazanjian had been a big factor in the show's development. He said:
I've been approached over the years to host this kind of show or that kind of show. Usually space-related, obviously, or about UFOs or paranormal activity. Those are things that all interest me, but it's not like I've ever had a paranormal experience. I'd love to see a ghost, but I've never seen one. I'd love to see a UFO, I've never seen one.
Howard Kazanjian was the producer of Return of the Jedi, and he also producedRaiders of the Lost Ark. We've stayed friends over the years. He's been over to my house, and he's seen my collection of toys, games, puppets, plastic model kits, rock & roll memorabilia, Beatles memorabilia, and all that. I've collected so much, we're at the point where my wife said we have to get storage space to sort all this stuff. I said, "I don't want to have to go visit my stuff in a garage! This is really getting out of hand!" I stopped collecting the actual items. I started collecting catalogues, and coffee table books with photographs of what I like: vintage toys, and the like.
He noticed what a passion I have for it, and said: "Thisis the kind of show we should do, something that you care about." It seemed to me that [the show] would be the perfect extension of my hobby, without having to collect the physical items. This will give me the license to go and look at other people's collections. Even if it's not something I collect specifically. There's a likeminded camaraderie that you have with other collectors. When I directed Jonathan Winters inComic Book: The Movie, he invited me up to his place in Santa Barbara. He had this amazing Civil War memorabilia, was showing me all these vintage political signs. It was as thrilling to me as looking at all the things I personally collect.
To use a Dick Van Dyke term, I'm a pathological snoopy-nose. I love seeing what other people collect, and I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. We're gonna do a dozen of these [episodes], and see where it leads. I'm just gonna have a lot of fun, and hopefully the audience will, too.
Speaking of collections, Hamill explained how there will be no specific collection in each episode:
There's no real marching orders. The shows will be anywhere from a minimum of a 11 minutes to a maximum of 18. Some of these collections, you think, "How are we going to get this all in in such a short period of time?" I am going up to Stratford-on-Avon here in England. A friend of mine owns a comic book store up there. I thought we should get some local color in there. We might even go to the Sgt. Bilko Museum. This is all tentative. It's hard for me to focus on two things at once, and withEpisode VIIIgoing on, it's overwhelming. I forgot how involved these kinds of movies are. But I'm going to do one or two [episodes] here in England, and once I get back to the States that leaves 10 or 11, and we'll see where it takes us!
Unfortunately for fans who want to see the actor in Comic-Con this year, Hamill said he can't make it because of his schedule for Episode VIII.
It doesn't look like I'm gonna be able to make it this year, because of the shooting schedule here. I don't get back until the third week in July. I wanted to go, because that's where they're gonna premiereThe Killing Joke, and [Batman voice] Kevin Conroy is gonna be there. I'd love to see it with an audience. But it doesn't look like my schedule's gonna allow it this year. My major obligation right now, obviously, is toEpisode VIII.
Asked jokingly about how he will be saying more lines now in Episode VIII, Hamill simply teased:
I can't confirm or deny.
So it seems that even though the actor is fond of trolling fans with Star Wars updates on social media, when it comes to real teases, the actor can be quite serious. Obviously, Luke will be saying something now in the eighth installment of the franchise. He's bound to since it's likely that he'll be the one to train Rey.
Going back to Mark Hamill's Pop Culture Quest, it appears to me that this will all be in the name of fun, and thankfully Hamill has found the perfect show to showcase his hobbies and entertain fans. It's cool seeing the actor having time for these kinds of interviews despite his busy schedule. He's been known as well to take his time off to visit children's hospitals and ill fans just to make them happy.
Clearly, an actor like Hamill is one who can understand fans' passion for pop culture, and we can't wait to see this show as it hits Comic Con HQ this fall.
You can read the full interview here.
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