Mark Hamill Reveals “Contractually Obligated” Star Wars: Episode 7 Beard

Mark Hamill hit the red carpet at the London premiere of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy' last night, sporting rather luscious facial hair.

He told the BBC’s Lizo Mzimba that the fuzz was grown specifically for his role in ‘Star Wars: Episode VII' during one of his first television interviews about the much-anticipated sequel.

"I thought, even if they did a third trilogy, we wouldn’t be involved," he said. "Because it’s really about the new generation of characters. We’re just there to lend our support and grow contractually obligated beards."

Read more on Yahoo Movies:

First Trailer For ‘Fifty Shades’ Movie Arrives

Zack Snyder Shares New Photo of Ben Affleck as Batman

What Are Marvel’s 5 New Films?

Hamill’s Jedi chin pays homage to his one-time mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by Sir Alec Guiness in the original film. It’s long been rumoured that Luke Skywalker would play the mentor role in ‘Episode VII’ and now we have hairy proof.

The 62-year-old Jedi admitted that he’s still surprised to be back on a ‘Star Wars’ set even if he was the galaxy’s original new hope.

"It’s certainly unexpected," he said. "We had a beginning, a middle, and end… I never thought we’d come back. I still can’t believe it’s happening and to go onto those sets that evoke so many memories is astonishing."

But while Hamill’s look harkens back to the golden age of ‘Star Wars’, it seems there’s plenty to look forward to in the future.

"These kids… they’re so talented," he said about his brand-new co-stars. "I was just overwhelmed. They’re all so diverse. There are people I recognised like Andy Serkis and new people I’d never seen before like Daisy Ridley. But they’re so good, I’m thinking of asking them for advice."

But what can we expect from ‘Star Wars VII’? Can J.J. Abrams recapture the magic of the original trilogy? Mark Hamill certainly seems to think so.

"It really has the spirit of that whole universe," he said. "The characters are so relatable. I think that’s always the most important thing - no matter how much special effects you have, the audience has to identify with each of the characters.

They’ve done a great job - J.J. and Lawrence Kasdan - in writing a script where you immediately understand who these people are and relate to them… and that’s the most important thing.”

Has Abrams managed to rekindle the ‘Star Wars’ magic? Will ‘Episode VII’ be as good as we hope? Let us know what you think in the comments below.