Well, the official trailer for a little movie called “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is upon us, and one could say it has, in the parlance of our times, already broke the Internet. Reactions to the new trailer are outspoken and diverse, with many losing their shit over director J.J. Abrams slick, updated vision, while others — namely the astonishingly regressive “Boycott Episode VII” contingent — aren’t too happy with the way the mythology is apparently being re-written. The trailer itself is, not surprisingly, chockablock with easter eggs and callbacks to the earlier films, in addition to boasting late-career turns from a more-grizzled-than-usual Han Solo (erhm, we mean Harrison Ford) and of course, Carrie Fisher.
READ MORE: Check Out AMC’s IMAX Poster For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
The one actor who’s largely been absent from the film’s advertising is Mark Hamill: odd, considering he’s arguably the protagonist of the entire original trilogy. Fans have speculated as to what becomes of Skywalker in the time elapsed between pictures: a 1991 Dark Horse comic series entitled “Dark Empire” sees the idealistic Jedi falling under the influence of the shadowy Emperor Palpatine. Others, meanwhile, have pointed fingers at that mysterious cloaked figure seen reaching out to R2D2 in the recently released trailer. Whatever the case may be — and we won’t know ‘till mid-December — Mark Hamill himself has a few thoughts about where his character might have ended up after the original films. And he certainly wasn’t shy about sharing them with this new film’s director.
Hamill discussed his character’s fate on a 2005 episode of the old IFC series “Dinner for Five,” and it’s worth a watch for Abrams’ bemused facial reactions alone. When asked about the potential future of young master Skywalker, the 64 year-old actor had this to say: "I just thought that’s the way it was going from when we finished [‘The Empire Strikes Back‘]. I figured that’s what will be the pivotal moment. I’ll have to come back, but it will be Han Solo in my crosshairs and I’ll be about to kill him or about to kill the Princess or about to kill somebody that we care about."
So, Skywalker going to the Dark Side? That’s an intriguing notion to chew on. ‘The Force Awakens’ opens on December 18th. Check out the video below (Hamill’s comments come in around the 11:50 mark). After that, check out a lightsaber supercut, because why not?