Star Wars: Mark Hamill Calls Wampa Amputation in 'Empire Strikes Back' "Unnecessary"
Mark Hamill's Twitter feed is a gift that keeps on giving, from his goading of fans to his [...]
Mark Hamill's Twitter feed is a gift that keeps on giving, from his goading of fans to his shedding insight into the production of the original films. In a recent tweet, the actor revealed that he had no idea his lightsaber blow in The Empire Strikes Back would result in the amputation of the wampa.
When filming scene I was assured my lightsaber swipe toward camera (creature not on set) would simply singe fur 2 scare him off-Horrified to later see amputation & unnecessary cruelty-Wampa was HUNGRY (not EVIL)-Luke would never do this! #StillAngry2017 https://t.co/QhIkOILZmw
— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) November 27, 2017
In the original cut of the film, the scene quickly jumps from Luke's lightsaber swing to the wampa's arm hitting the ground. This makes it entirely possible that Hamill had no idea how the finished product would look, or that he merely assumed what the creature's fate would be following the swing.
In the 1997 Special Edition release of the film, the sequence got even more gruesome, as it included an additional shot of the wampa moaning in pain after the violent blow.
This isn't the first instance of the actor being oblivious to the continuity of the films, as he revealed in a recent interview that he feels he has so little knowledge of the Star Wars universe as a whole that he feels like a "fraud."
"People have studied these things, read the novels and comic books, played the games. They ask me questions like, 'What's the Wookiee home planet?' In many ways, devotees understand what a Jedi is more than I do," Hamill confessed to Men's Journal. "When I play the Star Wars video games, my sons laugh because I crash the vehicle just taking it out of the hangar."
The actor's ignorance about the details of the franchise doesn't seem to bother him, with his sons taking every opportunity they can to tease him.
"My son says, 'If you keep your mouth shut, people might believe you actually know what a Jedi is, rather than opening your mouth and destroying anyone's hope,'" Hamill confessed. "I'm such a fraud."
Hamill will be appearing on screen again in The Last Jedi, which hits theaters on December 15.
[H/T Twitter, HamillHimself]
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