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Star Wars is arguably the most popular film franchise of all time, with entire generations brought up on the galaxy far, far away. And while the story has spanned decades of filmmaking and 11 films, it all stared with George Lucas' original A New Hope. The blockbusters would make stars out of its stars, including Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. And now Hamill has taken to social media to give the real story about A New Hope's original reshoots.
Mark Hamill is the Star Wars franchise's most vocal cheerleader, as well as its most iconic hero. He regularly comments on what's happening in the galaxy far, far away, while also sharing memories from his time filming the original trilogy with George Lucas. Hamill recently took to social media to clear up a misconception about A New Hope's reshoots. Check it out below.
Well, that certainly clears things up. It looks like Mark Hamill isn't responsible for some of the last minute reshoots that George Lucas filmed for Star Wars: A New Hope. Instead, it was the change of Luke's last name which resulted in Hamill and Carrie Fisher having to re-film Luke and Leia's very first meeting. Hey, that's showbusiness.
Mark Hamill's response come to us from Twitter, which the iconic actor often uses to communicate with the generations of Star Wars fans out there. When a news outlet reported that some of A New Hope's reshoots occurred because Hamill flubbed a line, he took to social media to clear it up. That's not exactly what happened, as reshoots were necessary in order to edit the film around Luke's change in last name. Because while we all know him as Luke Skywalker, he was originally named Luke Starkiller in George Lucas' script.
Star Wars fans can re-watch the franchise on Disney+. You can use this link to a free 7-day trial to the streaming service.
While the last nine installments in the Star Wars franchise are lovingly known as the Skywalker Saga, that wasn't always going to be Luke's last name. Ultimately George Lucas changed A New Hope as he was working on it, with plenty of concepts ending up on the cutting room floor. This includes his protagonist's surname, which would eventually be shared by other characters including Anakin and eventually Rey. J.J. Abrams also presumably named The Force Awakens' Starkiller Base after the original name.
After starring in the original trilogy of Star Wars films, Mark Hamill eventually got to reprise his role as Luke Skywalker in the sequels. He had a major role in The Last Jedi, as a Luke that was jaded, isolated, and questioning the value of his life. He's also appear as a Force Ghost in The Rise of Skywalker, revealing a hidden backstory for Leia in the process.
It's currently unclear when the Star Wars franchise will return to theaters, although there are a few projects in development, including one by Taika Waititi. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
