Editing Luke Skywalker (section)

==Portrayal==
[[Mark Hamill]] was originally cast as Luke for ''Star Wars'' (1977). Other actors who auditioned for the role include [[Robby Benson]], [[William Katt]], [[Kurt Russell]], and [[Charles Martin Smith]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Prell |first=Sam |date=November 20, 2017 |title=Mark Hamill reflects on his Luke Skywalker competition for Star Wars: "Any one of those guys was perfect" |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/mark-hamill-reflects-on-his-competition-for-playing-luke-any-one-of-those-guys-was-perfect/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806005328/https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/mark-hamill-reflects-on-his-competition-for-playing-luke-any-one-of-those-guys-was-perfect/ |archive-date=August 6, 2021 |access-date=August 11, 2021 |work=[[GamesRadar]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Kevin |date=November 21, 2014 |title=Charles Martin Smith (alias Terry the Toad) behind the camera now |url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/entertainment/movies/2014/11/21/charles-martin-smith-alias-terry/7815646007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312091836/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/entertainment/movies/2014/11/21/charles-martin-smith-alias-terry/7815646007/ |archive-date=March 12, 2024 |accessdate=March 6, 2024 |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post}}</ref> Hamill was injured in a car accident in January 1977, fracturing his nose and cheekbone.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lue |first=Alex |date=2021-07-06 |title=How Mark Hamill's Near-Fatal Wreck Completely Changed 'Star Wars' |url=https://insidethemagic.net/2021/07/mark-hamill-car-accident-al1/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Inside the Magic |language=en-US}}</ref> Lucas justified the slight change to Hamill's likeness this would impose upon the sequel film, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), by asserting that in the interim between the two films, Luke had been fighting for the Rebel Alliance. It was speculated that the [[wampa]] attack at the beginning of ''The Empire Strikes Back'' was written in to explain his facial injuries, but Lucas disputed this in the DVD commentary of the film.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cronin |first1=Brian |date=August 25, 2015 |title=Was the Wampa Attack in ''Empire Strikes Back'' Created to Explain Mark Hamill's Facial Injuries? |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-cronin/was-the-wampa-attack-in-e_b_8035468.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218234747/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-cronin/was-the-wampa-attack-in-e_b_8035468.html |archive-date=February 18, 2017 |access-date=December 16, 2017 |website=[[Huffington Post]]}}</ref>