‘Star Wars: Episode 7’: Mark Hamill Is All for Playing Luke Skywalker

The heroes of the original “Star Wars” trilogy have been dropping hints left and right about their reported -– and still unconfirmed –- involvement in J.J. Abrams’s upcoming “Episode VII,” and Mark Hamill has been one of the most vocal.

The actor behind Luke Skywalker fielded audience questions at the recent CapeTown Film Festival, discussing his experience filming the original series, his disagreement with fans’ negative reactions to the prequels, and how special effects might be integrated into the new movies.

“We’ve got to find a proper balance between CGI and old-school models,” Hamill told the crowd. “I want to have a more organic look so that we don’t get into ‘Roger Rabbit’ territory.”

Hamill probably won’t have much of a say in the effects process -– and again, Disney has yet to make an official announcement about him, Carrie Fisher, or Harrison Ford joining the cast -– but his enthusiasm about the project certainly bodes well for his potential return to the franchise. Responding to a fan’s suggestion that he play a Jedi master instead of knight this time around, Hamill was all for it, saying he’d like Luke’s new role to be “heavy on the Jedi mind tricks, less on the lightsaber duels. That one in ‘Empire’ nearly killed me.”

Here’s hoping Luke lives to fight another day, in “Episode VII” and beyond.

[via Indiewire]