Very few film franchises even come close to the pop culture monolith that is “Star Wars.” We all like to think these films, shows, books, comics, etc have been dissected to the point where there is nothing left to learn about them. Then Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, comes out of left field and gives us hungry fans something fun and new.
A black-and-white video features Harrison Ford reading for Han Solo alongside Hamill as Skywalker was posted to Twitter in 2019. Journalist Carl Quintanilla asked Hamill if he could “share any color on this.”
Hamill explained at the time the video was taken, no one had been officially cast in “A New Hope,” even though he agrees Ford was already nailing Solo. “At this point, neither of us had read the full script, only this one scene,” his response reads. While the actor had plenty of questions, writer/director George Lucas apparently responded with “Let’s just try one & we’ll talk about it later.”
The dialog we hear in the video is… rough, to say the least. Hamill even says “it felt like a parody of sci-fi.” So, he “decided to play it as sincerely as possible.” While Ford is full of Solo’s swagger, Hamill is throwing out Skywalker’s earnest nature, even while reading undeniably campy dialogue. Though to be fair, the 1977 film does still have some serious camp appeal to it. That element just tends to get glossed over as an endearing cornerstone to the juggernaut that “Star Wars” became.
Hamill obviously found the right blend of sincerity, camp, and humor to really bring Skywalker to life. Even if we never got to hear Ford say “I’m beginning not to like you,” to him in the final cut.
“Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope” is currently available to stream on Disney+. Check out the video below:
