Star Wars Day - the original cast members then and now
It's been almost 38 years since the first Star Wars movie was released and the ever-expanding franchise is still firmly a fan favourite. In honour of Star Wars Day, take a look at the original cast of the award-winning films compared to the present day
Nearly 40 years after the Star Wars film was released, it remains a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. And this weekend, fans will be glued to their screens to see the new installment in the ever-expanding franchise when the animated series Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld drops on Disney Plus - on Star Wars Day no less - 'May the Fourth be with you...'
Whilst viewers love the modern additions to the franchise, including the live-action series Andor, they hold a special place in their hearts for the original stars of the movies, who famously united with newer cast members in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The seventh film in the franchise and part of the main 'Skywalker Saga' storyline, it saw some of the big stars reprise their career-defining roles, including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Peter Mayhew. They joined the likes of British actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Gwendoline Christie on the red carpet for the movie's premiere, in a golden moment for fans.
In honour of Star Wars Day, the Mirror has decided to compare photos of the original stars at the 1980 premiere of The Empire Strikes Back, to their appearance at the 2015 screenings and more recent public sightings. Let's take a look...
Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill, who played young Jedi Luke Skywalker in the first few films and reprised the role for the 2015 installment, looked dapper in his suit and bow tie as he posed at the first premiere in New York with his wife Marilou York, who he married just two years before.
These days, Hamill can still rock a tuxedo and is pictured below at this year's BAFTAs proving he can still kill a black tie look.
Carrie Fisher
Meanwhile, a stunning Carrie Fisher could be seen chatting with Princess Margaret inside the Dorchester Hotel at London's 1980 opening.
The then-24-year-old wowed in a slinky gown as she pinned half her hair back – she'd moved on from the infamous hairdo in the first film, Star Wars: A New Hope.
The iconic actress returned as a general in the new 2015 installment. With the change in title came a shift in Leia's costume, with the actress admitting that even the signature buns don't feature throughout the whole movie.
Carrie passed away the following year in December 2016 aged 60, after suffering from cardiac arrest, with a toxicology report finding that she had opiates in her system at the time. She did, however, still star in the next two installments of the recent trilogy, appearing in The Last Jedi - which she had finished filming before her tragic death, and was touchingly dedicated to her memory.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker also featured the iconic star, with the filmmakers using unseen footage shot during the seventh film, and getting her daughter Billie Lourd to step in to film a flashback scene, before digitally altering her face to replace it with Carrie's. "Billie was playing her mother," the Visual Effects Supervisor of the film told Yahoo. 'It was a poignant thing, and something that nobody took lightly — that she was willing to stand in for her mom."
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford was 35 when he first played the role of Han Solo and he looked just as chuffed at 73-years-old to be returning to the iconic character of Han Solo..
When celebrating The Force Awakens, Ford was joined by his wife Calista Flockhart, who he married in 2010, during the Force Awakens premiere.
The silver fox was dressed in a black suit with a pale blue shirt beneath – a much more casual look than he opted for in 1980.
Looking equally happy with the glitzy event was his then-51-year-old wife, who stunned in an elegant black gown with silver detailing along the neckline.
She beamed as she stopped for the paps with her hubby and wore a pop of bright red lipstick to add to her glam look, with her hair in gentle waves resting on her shoulders.
It was great to see the pair smiling again after their horrific ordeal earlier the same year when Ford nearly died in a plane crash in March 2015.
Firm Friends
One thing we couldn't help but notice at the premieres for the original Star Wars Movies was how incredibly smart they all looked back then with their tuxes and bow ties - and just how well they appeared to get along.
The cast looked like firm friends during the photo call for the franchise's second installment, The Empire Strikes Back back in 1980.
The lead three – Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill – are joined by David Prowse (Darth Vader), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) in one shot.
And as they posed outside the Dorchester Hotel for the London premiere, the gang arranged themselves in height order – from Peter Mayhew's massive 2.21-metre frame all the way to Kenny Baker's 1.12 metre height.
Both Mayhew and Baker have reprised their roles for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
While Prowse's character was killed off in the 1983 movie Return of the Jedi, the Dark Side has a new recruit in the form of Adam Driver's Kylo Ren.
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