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STAR WARS CELEBRATION is still going on as I write this, and I’ve been lucky enough to spend some behind-the-scenes time with some of the convention’s headliners, particularly Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. Today at the show, the eagerly anticipated panel with George Lucas (moderated by John Stewart of THE DAILY SHOW fame) took place, and it did not disappoint. In what is easily one of the most surreal moments of my life, I got to sit backstage and watch the presentation, during which both Hamill and Fisher made surprise appearances on stage with George. John Stewart even joked that it was like “getting the band back together.” But there were two stand-out moments during the panel which had fans erupting in applause. The first was when George officially announced the original STAR WARS trilogy is going to be hitting Blu-ray in 2011 (we’re guessing either mid-year or close to Christmas). Why 2011 and not 2010? Because (according to George) these Blu-rays are going to feature tons on new bonus content from the Lucasfilm Archives, including never-before-seen deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage. When Hamill came out on stage, he proudly presented a video clip of a deleted scene from RETURN OF THE JEDI, which would have been his original introduction in the film. Check out the fan-shot video below, and some explanation as well…
The video above was taken from an upload by our friends at TheForce.net
As it was explained during the Q&A, this original character intro was supposed to be the first time we saw Luke Skywalker in the third movie, giving a much more ominous feel for what was to come. In his own Q&A the day before, Mark commented on how the character of Luke Skywalker was originally intended to be more ambitious and opportunistic than what he ended up as in the trilogy, and that Luke could have just as easily joined the Empire rather than the Rebels, only because he was so desperate for a change of scenery. Mark mentioned he initially found that to be a very intriguing aspect of the character, since his motivations weren’t supposed to have anything to do with good or evil, only a desire to move away from his boring home life. I always liked the idea that Luke could have been swayed to join the Dark Side in an attempt to bond with his long-lost father. Obviously that never happened, but the fact that it could have was something I remember as interesting from my childhood moviegoing memories. Makes you wonder what other scenes we’ll finally see on the Blu-ray releases of the films. In closing, I’ll just say that while I didn’t get to formally meet George Lucas, I did literally brush up against him on the way out (a brush with greatness if you will), and I was lucky enough to say hi to John Stewart – who I’ve always admired and respected, and found to be a solid source of educated amusement for many years. I’m also happy to say Stewart (backstage) was a very cool cat, and his children (dressed as STAR WARS characters) were adorable. During Mark Hamill’s Q&A the day prior, he had only started to scratch the surface with some stories from his days on the set, including many never-before-told tales about funny and interesting things that happened. Unfortunately, time ran out and his panel was cut short just as it was starting to get interesting. To date, we have the longest recorded interview with Mark Hamill on the Bigfanboy Livecast HERE (recorded in December of 2008 – episode is 2 hours, with Mark on for the first hour and 20 minutes, click to listen streaming or right-click and download the MP3), so I’m hoping I can talk him into finishing those stories on another episode. More on that if it comes together. Keep those fingers crossed!
The Bigfanboy Livecast can be heard every Thursday night at 10:40pm Central Time right HERE – we’re doing a special STAR WARS CELEBRATION wrap-up show on Monday night, August 16 at 10:40pm Central Time – join us LIVE in our interactive chat room, or call in and ask questions. We’re always discussing movies, TV, comic books, and pop culture – plus the show frequently features celebrities and comic book creators. If you’ve never heard it, you really are missing out.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
