Source: ET Online (via Yahoo!) | Posted By: Dan Geer
Last week, Latino Review dished out a big rumor that Harrison Ford will be back as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode VII, which was quickly revealed to be unconfirmed by Entertainment Weekly’s Geoff Boucher.
Now it appears that Mark Hamill has given further confirmation on this, as he has revealed via ET Online that none of the cast from the Original Trilogy have been officially signed on for the new films at this point. However, he does say that they have been approached to be in them. Read on for all the juicy details, as well as where he thinks the story should go!
In the interview with ET Online, he reveals:
They’re talking to us. George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we’d be interested. He did say that if we didn’t want to do it, they wouldn’t cast another actor in our parts – they would write us out. … I can tell you right away that we haven’t signed any contracts. We’re in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed — on their end, not mine. They’re more busy than I am.
He also talks more about how he feels the tone of the films should be, as well as wanting all of the Original Trilogy cast to reprise their roles:
I said to George that I wanted to go back to the way it was, in the sense that ours was much more carefree and lighthearted and humorous – in my opinion, anyway. And another thing I’d want to make sure of is are we going to have the whole gang back? Is Carrie and Harrison and Billy Dee and Tony Daniels, everybody that’s around from the original [returning]? I want to make sure that everybody’s on board here, rather than just one. I guess I’ll have to tune into your show to figure out who’s on board.
Lastly, he speculates on what his role would be in the new films, as well as where the overall story could go:
I’m assuming, because I haven’t talked to the writers, that these movies would be about our offspring — like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range [as] an influential character. … When I found out [while making the original trilogy] that ultimate good news/bad news joke – the good news is there’s a real attractive, hot girl in the universe; the bad news is she’s your sister – I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to wind up like Sir Alec [Guinness]. I’m going to be a lonely old hermit living out in some kind of desert igloo with a couple of robots.’
What Star Wars fan wouldn’t be game for this (well, everything except that last little joke from Hamill, anyway)?! I, for one, am totally in. It seems that die-hard Yoda-heads are in for a real treat come 2015 (or is it 2016, Abrams?).
It seems pretty concrete that at least Hamill, Fisher, and Ford will all be back. What we all need to start really speculating on now is who will (or should) play their offspring? After all, they will really be the ones carrying us through the films.
Head on over ET Online to read more about what Hamill thinks of the new direction for the Star Wars franchise, including his thoughts on the spinoff films!
(Yeah, that’s me with Mark Hamill)
