Perhaps one of the biggest reasons that Star Wars has captured the imaginations of fans for the past forty years is that the filmmakers found a way to take real world locations and turn into something that truly felt out of this world. In a recent interview with JOE, Star Wars: The Last Jedi star Mark Hamill revealed how shooting the sequel reminded him of shooting the original film back in 1977. The actor stated:
“I remember, I had this feeling that rushed over me when I was at the top of Skellig Michael [Island], because the first thing we did on the original Star Wars, before Carrie [Fisher] came over or Harrison [Ford] came over. I went with Sir Alec [Guinness] and Anthony [Daniels] and Kenny Baker — the two droids — and we went and we did the desert scenes in Tunisia. We were out on the salt flats, which was 360 degrees of horizon, because it was built over- nothing grows there, because there was salt water underneath, and in between shots if I turned away and had the crew to my back, you could look out and in this unearthly terrain and the robots by your side and the floating car and the stand, and you’re in this outfit… It was very easy to just be transported and really feel like you were in a galaxy far, far away. It was just — y’know, I got the chills. And I never had that feeling again, until — not in Empire, when we went to Norway, it was brutally cold, but snow is snow, I’ve seen it before. In Jedi, we went to the Redwood forest [of northern California], and again, gorgeous, but again, it was something that I was familiar with. Skellig, you’re up at the top, and I didn’t expect this to happen but I was sort of off to myself, and it was just at sunset, and there was the craggy rocks coming up, and I had that same feeling: ‘Oh my gosh, this is like being in another world.”
The next chapter in the Star Wars saga will be Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the film stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Armitage Hux, Benicio Del Toro as “DJ,” Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO and Jimmy Vee as R2-D2.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15, 2017. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding Mark Hamill and the Star Wars universe!
Source: JOE