‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill saved after slipping on risky mountain

Despite previous reports, it appears the Star Wars filmming on Skellig Michael in Ireland will not be reshoots for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but the very first filming on Episode VIII.

According to a local who has talked with workers on the set, the scene is said to possibly involve Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and what may be a Jedi Monastery. The island is an Unesco World Heritage site, which visitors must climb over 600 steps to reach.

The Times newspaper reports that a witness to his near tragedy told the actor that he would have been a “goner” had the guide, from the Irish Office of Public Works, not caught him. On his last appearance there, in July 2014, he nearly fell from the steps leading up to the ruins of the island’s early Christian monastery.

S. VANNINI/De Agostini/Getty Images Hamill was climbing the moutainous Skellig Michael when he slipped and almost fell to his death.

“A huge production crew for Star Wars VIII – the sequel to the film shot on the World Heritage Site previous year – arrived in South Kerry on Tuesday and visited Skellig Michael… ” Hamill was eventually rescued by an island guide, much to the relief of the LucasFilm team who had apparently raised concerns of having 63 year old Hamill filming in such a tricky environment before production had even started on the project.

One thing we do know for sure is that Mark Hamill’s family are now in the United Kingdom, which is where they were based when the actor was shooting his scenes on Skellig Michael for The Force Awakens – so it’s probably safe to assume that Luke will factor into these scenes, as is presumed above.

The close call reportedly occurred last summer, just weeks after Han Solo actor Harrison Ford snapped his ankle when a hydraulic door collapsed on set and had to be airlifted to the hospital.