Mark Hamill's first thoughts on the first Star Wars script were anything but serious. If anything, he initially believed the film was meant to be a parody of Flash Gordon, another sci-fi series.
What Made Mark Hamill Think Star Wars was a Parody?
Before Tom Holland's famous NDA moment on being blindsided about Tony Stark's death, Mark Hamill got that treatment first, with being Luke Skywalker.
On his appearance on the UK talk show This Morning, Hamill's first impression of the script was that it was a parody take on Flash Gordon.
Hamill said that he "didn't get the whole script" for the screen test. Keep in mind that the script only contained eight pages.
And when he reached out to his co-star for some sign of support, they couldn't exactly spill the beans either.
"I thought, 'Who talks like this?' So I spoke to Harrison Ford and you know what he said? 'Hey kid, let's just get it done.'" Translation? "He was no help at all."
But that didn't stop Hamill from getting to the bottom of the mystery, "I went to George. I said, 'George, this is sort of like a send up of Flash Gordon. He went, 'Let's just do it and talk about it later.' Translation: let's just do it and never talk about it later."
Why Did Mark Hamill Hate Luke's Surname Change?
Believe it or not, the surname for Luke Skywalker that Star Wars fans have long burned into their brains was not the originally intended surname.
At first, it used to be Starkiller, which, surprisingly, Hamill preferred.
Considering the menacing surname Starkiller, Hamill had the impression that he was some sort of villainous role and had to play him "as juvenile as I could so I could have some growth."
However, a week later, the actor couldn't be more disappointed to hear that it had been changed to Skywalker, which Hamill said sounded like "Luke Flyswatter." He "hated it."
It was also during this time that Hamill took a while to figure out he wasn't just going to be the silly sidekick next to Harrison Ford.
"I just assumed he was the lead character and I was his annoying sidekick," Hamill continued, "Then I get the movie, and Harrison must be Luke. Then I started reading it and I was like, 'Oh my god, it's from my point of view,' which is really unusual to tell it through a teenager's point of view."
Needless to say, Hamill had "fun" despite the oddities that came with the experience, "Because you were being paid for being in your backyard when you were 10 years old and pretending that you were Zorro or whatever. It was all a blast."
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