Why George Lucas rejected Mark Hamill’s ‘Star Wars’ advice
In 1977, George Lucas announced himself as a visionary of the science fiction world, bringing an entire cultural phenomenon along with him with the release of Star Wars, later titled Episode IV – A New Hope. Lucas crafted a deep mythology with plenty of political and social underpinning, making him a master of space-faring cinema.
However, one of the problems that Lucas needed to contend with in bringing his personal galactic vision to life was overcoming the suggestions of others, particularly his collaborators and movie stars. One person who attempted to advise Lucas on how Star Wars ought to go down was Mark Hamill, the legendary actor who played Luke Skywalker.
In an interview, Hamill once opened up on some instances that occurred behind the scenes of Star Wars in which he suggested something about how the audience ought first to be introduced to the film’s main antagonist, Darth Vader. Hamill had not been in the scene in question but was excited by its production.
As such, on the day of the Darth Vader entrance scene, Hamill turned up on set just as a spectator rather than a performer. However, when he saw Vader enter the scene, Hamill felt that Lucas was getting it all wrong and offered some advice to his director that was not quite accepted.
“I wanted to see Darth Vader’s first entrance,” Hamill explained. “Even though I didn’t work that day, and I said, ‘George, why don’t you cut away to two characters saying ‘Oh, that’s the Dark Lord of the Sith. He’s the most powerful evil’.” The actor felt that Lucas should have two people around Vader, essentially explaining who he is.
Favouring a sense of subtlety, Lucas insisted that the audience would understand who Vader is and why they ought to perceive him with fear because of the dark, menacing symbolism surrounding his every movement within the picture. Still, the director had Hamill’s advice to take on, but he was adamant that there should be an element of mystique around him and that the symbolism of the scene should do the explaining.
Hamill continued: “He goes, ‘No, he’s got a white background, and he comes on in a black costume. We’ll play some scary music. You know, they’ll get it’.” Lucas believed in the intelligence of his audience that they would be able to deduce just who Vader is and what he represents — pure evil.
Hamill expressed his admiration for Lucas after rejecting his advice, saying, “A writer who trusts the intelligence of their readers is pure gold. I love that George’s response was: ‘Well, the viewers aren’t idiots’. You gotta love the simplicity of George’s work style sometimes. When an entrance requires no introduction, and actually becomes an all-time classic movie moment.”
