Watch Mark Hamill and Frank Oz Wax Nostalgic about Star Wars and More
Between Mark Hamill and Frank Oz, there are likely hundreds of untold Star Wars stories. Hamill, as ..
Between Mark Hamill and Frank Oz, there are likely hundreds of untold Star Wars stories. Hamill, as any good Padawan knows, plays Luke Skywalker in the galactic franchise, a member of the old guard who found a poetic end in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Oz is the puppeteer and voice behind Yoda, the tiny and wise Jedi master with a penchant for scrambled dialogue. The duo have long been one of the film world’s favorite odd couples; they got to reunite one last time on screen in The Last Jedi, when Yoda appeared to Skywalker as a Force ghost, dispensing a few final words of wisdom. And on Friday, Hamill and Oz will come together in the real world for a talk at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, dishing on all things Star Wars (and maybe also dispensing a little wisdom; who knows!).
Luckily for all of us, the talk, which kicks off at 8 P.M. Eastern, will be live-streamed. (You can watch it in the video embedded above.) The two will have plenty to talk about, primarily that Last Jedi reunion—which, as Oz previously explained, was director Rian Johnson’s idea. “Several years ago, I had lunch with Rian, and Rian asked if I could do Yoda in the next Star Wars, and I said ‘Sure,’ because I thought it was just C.G.I.,” Oz told IGN. “And then [Lucasfilm president] Kathy Kennedy, who I’ve known for quite a while, who’s fantastic, she called me about it and then I realized that it wasn’t C.G.I., that it was actually the character.”
Oz then had to fire up his muscle memory, so to speak, and get back into the Yoda mindset. “If a character is transcendent and lives and breathes, then he’s inside me. It takes a long time to get there, but I’ve done him a long time,” he said.
Hamill and Oz will likely also take a trip down memory lane, reflecting on the last 40 years of Star Wars lore and history. You can put your money on the erstwhile Luke Skywalker finding new ways to praise The Last Jedi, which is available on Blu-ray on March 27. The actor spent much of his most recent Star Wars press tour expressing his surprise at Johnson’s grumpy interpretation of his legendary character, explaining that he wasn’t a fan of the script when he first read it. However, Hamill slowly changed his tune, especially after the film began dividing hardcore fans.
“I regret voicing my doubts & insecurities in public,” Hamill tweeted last December. “Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that- @rianjohnson made an all-time GREAT one!”
Luke Skywalker loves The Last Jedi—and that’s canon forever.
Get Vanity Fair’s HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:See Annie Leibovitz’s Exclusive Cast Portraits of Star Wars: The Last Jedi for Vanity FairMaster Class
Daisy Ridley as Resistance warrior Rey and Mark Hamill as mentor Luke Skywalker, on location in Ireland.Photo: Photographed exclusively for V.F. by Annie Leibovitz. For The Last Jedi: costume design by Michael Kaplan; production design by Rick Heinrichs. For V.F.: set design by Mary Howard. For details, go to VF.com/credits.
New Hope
Daisy Ridley’s Rey hones her lightsaber skills—and channels her inner Force.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Driver’s Seat
Daisy Ridley as Rey, at the helm of the Millennium Falcon, with Joonas Suotamo as co-pilot Chewbacca.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Freedom Fighters
Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Kelly Marie Tran as the rebels General Leia Organa, Poe Dameron, Finn, and Rose Tico, with droid BB-8.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Rookies
Benicio Del Toro, as the shifty “DJ,” a newcomer to the saga.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Spawn
Adam Driver, in character as Kylo Ren, Han Solo’s son and slayer, wields a crossguard lightsaber.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
The Dark Side
First Order leaders General Hux, Kylo Ren, and Captain Phasma, played by Domhnall Gleeson, Adam Driver, and Gwendoline Christie.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.PreviousNext
Daisy Ridley as Resistance warrior Rey and Mark Hamill as mentor Luke Skywalker, on location in Ireland.Photographed exclusively for V.F. by Annie Leibovitz. For The Last Jedi: costume design by Michael Kaplan; production design by Rick Heinrichs. For V.F.: set design by Mary Howard. For details, go to VF.com/credits.
Daisy Ridley’s Rey hones her lightsaber skills—and channels her inner Force.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Daisy Ridley as Rey, at the helm of the Millennium Falcon, with Joonas Suotamo as co-pilot Chewbacca.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, and Kelly Marie Tran as the rebels General Leia Organa, Poe Dameron, Finn, and Rose Tico, with droid BB-8.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Neal Scanlan (seated), creative supervisor of the Star Wars creature shop, and guests at the Canto Bight casino.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Costume designer Michael Kaplan (seated), surrounded by some of his creations.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, with droids R2-D2 and BB-8 and the Droid Department’s Brian Herring, Dave Chapman, Matthew Denton, Lee Towersey, and Joshua Lee.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Carrie Fisher (General Leia Organa), writer-director Rian Johnson, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), and producer Kathleen Kennedy with Fisher’s dog, Gary, and Hamill’s daughter’s dog, Millie.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Fisher, who died in December, with daughter Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Kaydel Connix).Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Fisher and Hamill, with whom she first worked four decades ago.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Laura Dern, as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, a newcomer to the saga.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Benicio Del Toro, as the shifty “DJ,” a newcomer to the saga.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Adam Driver, in character as Kylo Ren, Han Solo’s son and slayer, wields a crossguard lightsaber.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
First Order leaders General Hux, Kylo Ren, and Captain Phasma, played by Domhnall Gleeson, Adam Driver, and Gwendoline Christie.Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
Yohana DestaYohana Desta is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
