Almost 50 years ago, George Lucas’ Star Wars hit theaters, marking not only a new era for the science-fiction genre but a major event within the history of pop culture. While that 1977 flick remains a beloved piece of work, it took some time for Lucas to get it right. Mark Hamill, the man famous for playing eventual Jedi Luke Skywalker, would know those creative starts and stops better than most. The seasoned actor can actually still remember some early material that was originally meant for the film, and he’s still glad about it being left out.
It’s definitely not uncommon for Hamill to wax nostalgic about his time working on that first Star Wars movie, which is now known as Episode IV – A New Hope. He can even remember his first screen test for the film and meeting Harrison Ford (who’d get cast as Han Solo) on that day. Hamill recently shared more thoughts on that screen test while reflecting on his career with THR. Something that really stands out from that day, for him, is a scene involving Luke and Han, who share a back-and-forth that’s not in the finished film:
There was a line in the screen test — thank God it was cut, and I’ve never forgotten it. I can do it for you right now. We’re in the Millennium Falcon, no Wookie. It’s just me and Han Solo. He says, when he gets toward the Death Star, ‘OK, that’s enough for me. We’re turning around. I’ve held up my side of the bargain.’ Then I say: ‘But we can’t turn back. Fear is their greatest defense. I doubt if the actual security there is any greater than it was on Aquilea or Sullust. And what there is is most likely directed toward a large-scale assault.’ And I thought: ‘Who talks like this?’
Even as a massive fan of George Lucas and his work, I have no problem admitting that that’s some incredibly wooden dialogue, and it was better off being left out of A New Hope. There are, however, still plenty of lines in that first film that do sound a bit preposterous even for a space opera. Still, I wouldn’t say any of those words are worse than the conversation Mark Hamill describes above, and he had some more thoughts to share about it:
Now, I could break it down for you and diagram it. As a sentence, it makes sense. But to make it sound like it’s an original thought that just occurred to you and deliver it in a spontaneous way is really, really hard.
George Lucas’ writing has long been a subject of discussion, particularly when it comes to his screenplays for the Prequel Trilogy. Lucas himself even acknowledged that some of his lines are indeed “corny” but also said that a great deal of it is intentional, as it’s meant to mimic dialogue from 1930s westerns and serials. Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen is among those to defend Lucas’ writing skills and the way he works with actors. Mark Hamill also shared a take on how George finds talent:
Now, like I say, George Lucas is not an actor’s director in the sense that he doesn’t want to hear about backstory or motivation or all that. He cast actors who are so close to what he wants that he’s not going to have to do a lot of that — Harrison is endlessly laid-back and cool the minute he walks in the room. The only decision I made — that turned out to be the right one — is I’m going to do this as sincerely as I can.
It’s always interesting to hear these anecdotes from Hamill, who initially didn’t even realize he was the lead in Star Wars. There may have indeed been some growing pains, from a creative standpoint, but I’d say everything worked out just fine. In the years since, the franchise has become so big that Hamill has even reprised Luke on multiple occasions, though it seems unlikely he’ll return in the upcoming Rey movie.
Looking back on the movie that launched Star Wars, though, I’d say it’s a good that some dialogue didn’t make the cut. Yes, some of the words that did stay on the page aren’t perfect, but they still contribute to one of the most influential films in the history of cinema. Fans can check out A New Hope as well as the rest of the Skywalker Saga using a Disney+ subscription.
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