Mark Hamill has revealed he was "horrified" when his ‘Star Wars’ alter ego Luke Skywalker cut off the arm of the wampa in ‘Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back’.
The 66-year-old actor starred as the young Jedi in the original trilogy – and will reprise the iconic role in the upcoming eighth movie in the franchise, ‘The Last Jedi’.
In the second movie in the series, his character gets attacked and dragged into an icy cave by the carnivorous, white-furred species known as a wampa on the planet Hoth.
Although Luke escapes by using the Force to summon his lightsaber to cut away the ice, the wampa begins to charge towards him and the young Jedi cuts the arm off the creature and then makes his escape.
However, Hamill recently admitted he was "horrified" to see the amputation and it was "unnecessary cruelty" – something his on-screen alter-ego would never do.
He wrote: "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!"
Now Hamill is reprising his role in ‘The Last Jedi’ and is set to feature other returning stars including the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa.
Other cast include Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Andy Serkis (Snoke) and Domhnall Gleeson (General Lux) who are all reprising their roles from the 2015 ‘The Force Awakens’.
‘The Last Jedi’ is slated to be released this December.