The Lego Group unveiled its new SMART Play bricks at CES, the first building sets, featuring Star Wars, are expected to launch in March.
In the wise words of Yoda, we are what they grow beyond.
Mark Hamill is reminiscing about sharing "Star Wars" with his kids, who showed very different levels of interest in the franchise, in a chat with USA TODAY about his new role with The Lego Group.
The Luke Skywalker actor, 74, remembers the joyous experience of bringing his oldest son, Nathan, who was born during production of "The Empire Strikes Back," to the set of 1983's "Return of the Jedi."
"He was totally into it," Hamill says. "He could sit in Yoda's house because he was little. He was perfectly proportioned. He sat on the Emperor's throne. He was in the creature shop, and they were letting him play with things. When I did 'The Muppet Show,' same thing. I thought, 'What a wonderful experience for him.' ... I was almost envious of him being able to have all these experiences."
But according to Hamill, his younger son, Griffin, born in 1983, wasn't quite as enthralled by the series.
"My second son, Griffin, is more analytical and serious, and he says: 'You know, Star Wars movies just aren't for me. They're too commercial for my liking,'" Hamill says. "My daughter likes them. Kids are all different!"
Hamill, who most recently played Luke via voiceover in the animated series "Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy," is now teaming up with Lego to promote the company's latest "Star Wars" sets, which use its new SMART Play technology. SMART Play, which was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, involves the use of a custom-made chip to make Lego sets more interactive with bricks that light up, make sounds and react as they're played with.
As part of a new campaign, Lego has declared Hamill its junior executive director of information - or J.E.D.I. Speaking over Zoom, the actor enthusiastically points to a name plate with his J.E.D.I. title. "Do you get the acronym there?" he quips.
On April 8, fans can call 1-877-80-ASK-MARK from noon to 8 p.m. ET to hear facts from Hamill about the Lego sets, and a select number of callers will be invited to join a live video chat with him.
It's an appropriate role for the actor, who has always seen toys as "therapeutic" and says he has never outgrown his love for them. In fact, one of the first things he did when he started making money early in his career was go back and buy toys he "wanted as a kid that we couldn't afford," he says, giving the game Lie Detector as an example.
Toys have also been a major part of "Star Wars" going back to the original trilogy, and Hamill notes that among the cast, he was the "most enamored" with all the tie-in merchandising. The first example he recalls was when he stopped by a newsstand and was delighted to encounter the "Star Wars" comic book in the wild.
"I bought every comic, maybe 16 copies, (and) gave them out to friends," he says. "I was thrilled about that. I loved the toy aspect of it. Harrison (Ford) was sort of, 'Eh, whatever.' He didn’t really care. Carrie (Fisher) thought it was kind of fun. But I was the real enthusiast."
Another merchandising highlight was when Hamill came across boxes of cereal with masks of the "Star Wars" characters, including Luke, on the back. "To me, this was a peak achievement," he says, joking: "Forget about the Oscars. I'm on a box of Kellogg's Corn Pops!"
Hamill's partnership with Lego comes as "Star Wars" enters a new era. The franchise is gearing up for the release of its first new movie in almost seven years, "The Mandalorian and Grogu," on May 22. Lucasfilm also has a new leader at the helm: The company's longtime president, Kathleen Kennedy, resigned in January after a 14-year run. She was succeeded by Dave Filoni, who is Lucasfilm's president and chief creative officer alongside copresident Lynwen Brennan.
Hamill says he "can't think of better hands" for "Star Wars" than Filoni, adding that the producer—a Lucasfilm veteran who worked directly with George Lucas on the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"—understands the franchise "so well."
"George was a mentor to Dave, so he knows George's sensibility," adds Hamill, who says he has been impressed by the "great stuff" Filoni has worked on, including "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett." Hamill helped bring a young Luke Skywalker to life on both shows.
"Star Wars" also recently marked a major milestone: March 22 was the 50th anniversary of the day filming on the original movie began. Disney will celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Star Wars" by putting the first film back in theaters in February 2027.
"It doesn't feel like 50 years, and it makes you feel old," Hamill says. He recently went back and looked at an old date book from 1976 filled with notes about the film's production, and it "was bringing back such memories ... time flies when you're having fun!"