Star Wars’ iconic aesthetic has captivated audiences for decades, but a claim shared on social media purports that a key character’s look could have been very different.
The Claim
A photo of actor Mark Hamill wearing a gold jumpsuit has been shared online and described as a rejected Luke Skywalker costume.
The photo shows a young Hamill, who portrayed Skywalker in the original trilogy and reprised that role in the sequel movies, in a gold jumpsuit with flared sleeves posing for photographs.
Alongside such posts has been the caption: “Rejected costume for Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.”
There have been thousands of interactions with these posts, which reference costume designer John Mollo, who won an Oscar for his work on Star Wars.
The Facts
The photo of Hamill is authentic and he did wear the outfit in question.
However, it was not for a Star Wars film nor in consideration for one of those movies.
Instead, he wore the outfit on German television.
There is footage online of Hamill singing in German while sat on a moon during a section on a variety television program. The upload describes it as being circa 1980.
Hamill has himself addressed the outfit before.
In 2018, a Twitter user shared a clip of him singing with the caption “Mark Hamill singing in German, 1980.”
Hamill shared the post and said: “I remember not wanting to wear a gold jumpsuit like a rejected member of ABBA or if I could memorize dialogue in a foreign language-but thought ‘Who cares? No one outside of Germany will ever see this!’ Thanks to the internet-NOTHING EVER GOES AWAY. Who knew?”
The year before, someone shared a video clip of the segment and asked Hamill whether he “had fun” doing it.
The actor shared the tweet and wrote: “Unspeakably horrifying on so many levels, thanks for posting. #DontWorryNoOneExceptAFewGermansWillEverSeeThisAgain.”
On September 18, 2021, a Twitter user asked Hamill on Twitter about the photo, writing: “@HamillHimself is this true and if so why did this not make the films. So fancy.”
To this, Hamill replied: “Not true. It was for a German TV show I did. Please don’t judge me too harshly.”
Other users then went on to share clips from the German show.
The Ruling
False.
FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK
No, the gold jumpsuit Hamill was seen wearing was not nearly an outfit for his character in the Star Wars films.
Instead, it was an outfit he wore during an appearance on German television, during which he sang.
Rich Fury/Getty Images
