Mark Hamill is a Jedi again. No, not that kind of Jedi. Nearly 50 years after playing one of the first known Jedis in our universe, Hamill is now a JEDI, a Junior Chief Information Officer of The Lego Group, still celebrating the biggest change to the iconic classic brick since its inception. Hamill took calls this week and shared tips for getting the most out of Lego Smart Play Star Wars sets.
He was kind enough to interrupt his official duties as a JEDI to chat with me for TechRadar, and it’s clear that he’s a fan of Lego’s next evolution. “My jaw dropped,” Hamill said.
“The sound effects and the sounds of the lightsaber and R2… I mean, it’s phenomenal what they’ve done because I’m old school. When my kids were little, we played with Lego in the ’80s.” He shared that he started with basic Lego sets and that “it was something you could do with your child and that everyone enjoyed. And those are golden moments that you will treasure forever.”
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I asked Hamill if, when he first signed on for Star Wars, he knew that almost 50 years later it would still be a lingering part of pop culture: “In terms of becoming a permanent part of pop culture? There’s no way I imagined that.”
“I felt like it was going to be successful because it had all the elements that I… you know, when I read the script, even without John Williams’ music or without the special effects, the script just stood out.”
“It had a great sense of humor, there was drama, it was dark, it was light, it was everything. And I loved it. I thought, you know what? This is going to make enough money to make the sequel and the sequel to that.”
He was certainly right about that, as Star Wars, the original trilogy, tripled into nine films and countless spin-offs, including movies and TV shows (animated and live-action), as well as books, comics, and many other forms…including toys. And Hamill has also been a central part of the Star Wars toy universe.
“Someone told me they’d made 70 Luke Skywalker Lego sets over the years. I know, I’m more into Lego than the movies and stuff,” Hamill said. And you’re right, there are a lot of Luke Skywalker minifigures, including an
“But the first time I saw myself as a minifigure, I was like, ‘Why did they make my hair lemon yellow?’ And then Lego came out and they got the hair color right. I said, ‘Look, they’re paying attention.’ They are doing their homework. The toys they make are much more authentic to the movies. “It’s a small thing, but it meant something to me,” Hamill explained.
It’s clear he still plays with Lego today and sees a strong link, perhaps a Force link, between it and Star Wars. “The only thing that limits kids or anyone who plays with Lego is their imagination,” Hamill shared of the notion of the multigenerational theme that runs through Star Wars and extends to Lego.
The notable thing about Smart Play as a whole is that it does not introduce another screen or any barrier between that notion. It’s a classic looking brick with a mini computer inside that adds style (sound effects and LED lights) while you play with it.
As I and many others who have played with Lego or watched Star Wars know, imagination is the original special effect. And I asked Hamill how Smart Bricks expand on that theme:
“Well, you don’t have to say ‘pew-pew-pew’ anymore. They do it for you. It doesn’t mean you can’t augment it with your own sounds, but that’s what’s amazing: the way these Smart Bricks bring the sets to life,” Hamill said.
He then pointed out the Throne Room Duel Smart Play set: “where you can fight Vader is amazing. And of course the sounds bring it all to life.”
Given the love for the Throne Room set, I asked Mark about those duels and, reflecting on the filming, he was quick to credit the behind-the-scenes stunt team, especially for the lightsaber battles from the original trilogy.
“I always give credit to our stunt double, Colin Skeaping. I had to do all my laser matches with Bob Anderson because Dave Prowse couldn’t see through that mask. They built a special mask. [for] the specialist coordinator, Peter Diamond. They make you look good, let me tell you, because you practice over and over again. When I had days off, I still got picked up at 8:00 in the morning and worked until 6:00, just rehearsing lightsaber duels. And it was a repetition over and over and over again.”
All of which makes it fitting that the set he keeps returning to is the one built around that same scene.
Of course, it has a history with the X-Wing: “You are totally free to fly and be wherever you want.” But Hamill was quick to add: “I have to tell you that the throne room [Lego] built is fantastic. I mean, you’ve got the Emperor with lasers coming out of his hands, you’ve got the Gamorrean guards flanking him, Luke versus Vader… I mean, it’s just great.”
For Hamill, however, the dividing line between Star Wars and Lego still comes back to something simpler: imagination.
It’s what fueled those original duels and what continues to define both franchises today. Even with Smart Play adding lights and sound, the core idea remains the same.
“There are no limits to what you can do,” Hamill said.
And now, nearly 50 years after Star Wars first hit theaters, that sense of play still comes through.
Near the end of our talk, Hamill was already thinking about returning to the Throne Room set: “I’m going to play this with my granddaughter, but I know she’ll want me to play Vader. She’ll be Luke.”
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