Mark Hamill talks Star Wars secrets and Empire’s infamous twist
It’s the question that everyone has been asking about the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens — one of them at least — where is Luke Skywalker? His voice can be heard in one of the trailers, but his face has been absent from every TV spot and poster, and even though Mark Hamill’s name appears on the film’s poster, he can’t tell you he is in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Speaking with PC Gamer about his role in the highly-anticipated video game Star Citizen, Hamill opened up about working on such secretive projects and that he’s reliving the days of keeping secrets about a galaxy far, far away.
“It’s crazy though, this NDA stuff, people don’t know. None Disclosure Agreements, where you’re not allowed to talk about anything. I have something coming out where there’s an amount of money where if it leaks because of me, I don’t get that payment. If I keep it a secret until the day it comes out, I get that payment. I’m good about keeping secrets.
“I’m proud of the fact that I knew a year and a half before anybody else that he was actually Dad Vader. I didn’t tell Harrison, or my wife because I thought it would be terrible if she said ‘You know what…’ to a fan and it got out. Irvin Kershner (director of The Empire Strike Back) said ‘I know something, I’m going to tell you. George knows, I know, and now I’m going to tell you and if it leaks we’ll know it’s you.’ Because the line originally was ‘You don’t know the truth, Obi Wan killed your father,’ and he said we’re going to take out that line and put it in ‘I am your father.’
“I thought well first of all if Sir Alec Guinness is the real villain that’s a pretty good twist in and of itself, but this is even better. Couldn’t believe it, I was so excited. Just a mind-boggling plot twist. I still remember when we saw the first screening, Harrison turned to me and said ‘You never told me that.’ I said ‘I know, but I would have gotten in trouble if I told you.’ Now it’s happening all over again, I’m not even authorized to tell you I’m in Episode VII. It’s all secret.”
You can check out the full interview with Hamill in the player below.
Opening in theaters on December 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, and features a new generation of swashbuckling heroes and shadowy villains, as well as the return of fan-favorite smugglers, princesses, and Jedi.
Directed by J.J. Abrams, the highly-anticipated movie also stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.
