“He’s amazing,” the actor said Friday, referring to writer-director Rian Johnson in a chatty Q&A with fans on the first morning of Star Wars Celebration Europe in London. Many panels at the London event are being livestreamed or liveblogged by StarWars.com.
Luke Skywalker didn’t have any dialogue in Episode VII — The Force Awakens, but Hamill confirmed that he will speak in the sequel: The day before his convention appearance, he said, he was in the studio re-recording dialogue in a looping session.
“So many catchphrases,” Hamill said — “I can already see them on a T-shirt.”
He said the lack of Luke lines in The Force Awakens and the buildup to his reveal at the end worked in terms of story, but joked that now he expects “easy” roles where he’s only on camera for mere seconds.
Hamill wouldn’t reveal any other Episode VIII secrets, but, ever the fan’s fan, he spoke at length about his four other Star Wars movies and other highlights of his career.
He got serious, too. Speaking from a stage in a country divided by the recent vote to leave the European Union and one day after a terrorist attack killed 80 and injured many during Bastille Day celebrations across the English Channel in Nice, France, Hamill said it’s important to have fun things like Star Wars to enjoy in life.
“I hate the news,” he said. “Everything is terrible. I don’t want that. I want to be in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.”
