Mark Hamill recently revealed the influence Sir Alec Guinness’ portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi had on his performance as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The upcoming sequel marks the eighth episode in the ongoing Star Wars saga that began 40 years ago with George Lucas’ original film, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (though they weren’t numbered back then). Throughout the original trilogy, audiences saw Luke training to become a Jedi Knight, partially under the tutelage of Obi-Wan and Yoda.

Then, between the events of Richard Marquand’s Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi and J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Luke attempted to form a Jedi Academy of his own and train the newest generation of Jedi. Unfortunately, his apprentice turned on him and slaughtered all of his other disciples, so he went into a self-imposed exile in which he searched for the First Jedi Temple - and that’s where Rey found him at the end of The Force Awakens. Now, she will become his latest apprentice, if Episode VIII’s marketing materials are to be believed.

In the upcoming eighth chapter, Luke has become the master, and we’ve seen him begin to train Rey in the ways of the Force, as evidenced by the opening scenes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s first trailer that debuted earlier this year. Since Luke has now taken on the role Obi-Wan had in the original trilogy - or, at least, in the original film - it makes sense for Hamill to want to draw some inspiration from Guinness’ performance. In a recent interview with Yahoo! Movies from last weekend’s D23 Expo 2017, Hamill revealed how much influence Guinness had on his performance in The Last Jedi:

Granted, there are certainly many differences between how Obi-Wan grew up and was trained in the Force compared to Luke’s own upbringing and training, least of which was the fact that they’ve lived in different time periods. Considering how much time has passed between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, and the events that transpired during that time, it’s understandable for Luke to have obtained a more resolute composure than he had in Return of the Jedi - and we’ll likely see that in how he trains Rey in the upcoming film.

“I was completely in awe of [Sir Alec Guinness], but in terms of studying him for this film: I channeled his dignity and his composure. But Obi-Wan has a much different backstory than Luke, so although there are many similarities, you have to really sort of take ownership of your own character.”

Although the movie doesn’t release until the end of this year, we’ve already heard how different and unexpected the upcoming sequel is going to be in comparison not only to The Force Awakens but the rest of the Star Wars saga as a whole. And according to Disney head honcho Bob Iger, Hamill delivers his strongest performance to date, and considering how important his role is in The Last Jedi, all of this news only excites fans even more for the impending release. Stay tuned for any more Star Wars news that may come out of San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.

Next: Mark Hamill Teases Luke Using A Lightsaber Again

Source: Yahoo! Movies

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