Mark Hamill compares Star Wars: Episode IX script security to CIA
Mark Hamill revealed to Entertainment Weekly that security on the yet-to-titled Star Wars: Episode IX has been taken to new heights. That’s saying a lot considering the intense secrecy director J.J. Abrams employed during filming of The Force Awakens.
“You know how it is these days, every time you sign NDAs,” Hamill said in regards to revealing details about his upcoming roles. “I remember back when I read the first Star Wars [script], I was like, ‘Wow, that’s the goofiest thing I’ve ever read.’ I gave it to my best friend to read, and I said, ‘What do you think of it?’ He said, ‘It’s really wild, it’s crazy, can I give it to Meredith?’ ‘Sure, go ahead.’ It went around to all my friends. Of course back then nobody cared.”
He went on to compare the secrecy to a “deep state government organization, like … the CIA,” in which the scripts are sent over on indecipherable paper; a concept that first started with The Force Awakens to prevent script leaks.
If that wasn’t enough, Hamill won’t even get a hard copy of the script for Episode IX, which he has spent roughly a week on, and will continue in the near future.
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“They’re going to fly [the rewrites] over with somebody from the company,” Hamill said. “They’re going to come and give it to me and wait for me to read it before I give it back. So no pressure! You can’t even keep it overnight. But that’s the way it is now.”
The actor said misses the old days when he could “make notes” and draw “little cartoon drawings” on the script to use as a visual aid to help remember his lines. Though, he understands the importance of secrecy.
Returning cast members for Episode IX include Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo and Billie Lourd. Joining the cast are Naomi Ackie (Doctor Who), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings), Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and Keri Russell (The Americans), who will be joined by veteran Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels and Billy Dee Williams, who will reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.
The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Star Wars: Episode IX began filming at London’s Pinewood Studios on August 1, with J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Trek) returning to direct the final installment of the Skywalker saga. Abrams co-wrote the screenplay with Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League). Composer John Williams, who has scored every chapter in the Star Wars saga since 1977’s A New Hope, will return to a galaxy far, far away with Episode IX.
The film will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Michelle Rejwan, and executive produced by Callum Greene and Jason McGatlin.
Star Wars: Episode IX is scheduled for release on December 20, 2019.
