Lucas, Hamill reunite for Star Wars spoof

George Lucas and Mark Hamill will reunite for Robot Chicken: Star Wars, a 30-minute stop-motion animation special for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's late-night programming block.

The special spoofs key scenes and favorite characters from the Star Wars universe. It was done in collaboration with Lucas' production company Lucasfilm. Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars franchise, will voice a cartoon version of himself, and Hamill will resurrect Luke Skywalker.

The special, set to premiere at 10 p.m. on June 17, comes from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. Green directed.

The voice cast also includes Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Robert Smigel, Malcolm McDowell, Hulk Hogan, James Van Der Beek, Donald Faison, Abraham Benrubi, Breckin Meyer, and Joey Fatone.

The special stems from three Star Wars skits on Robot Chicken, including the popular "Emperor's Phone Call," featuring Darth Vader calling Emperor Palpatine to tell him that the Death Star has been blown up.

Representatives for Lucasfilm wanted to post that sketch on StarWars.com, and they set up a meeting with Green and Senreich that turned into a pitch meeting for a special.

"We were big fans of the work that Matt and Seth had done, so when they approached us about the idea to make a Robot Chicken episode dedicated to Star Wars, we were really enthusiastic about it," said Tom Warner, Lucasfilm's senior director of marketing.

The Star Wars special was developed with Lucasfilm's approval at every stage. The company also helped with sound files on Chewbacca and R2-D2.

Like just about every child in 1977, Green saw the first Star Wars movie.

"It informed my whole creative sensibility, and the Star Wars toys I played with in my childhood inspired my imagination," Green said. "I've always wanted to be a part of a Star Wars project, and I got to make one."

And he got to direct Lucas.

"It was really exciting," Green said. "He was very shy but very playful."