A new set photo from The Long Walk has revealed an early glimpse at Mark Hamill's character in the Francis Lawrence movie. The The Long Walk is an adaptation of Stephen King's 1979 dystopian novel of the same name, originally written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, in which 200 teenage boys are forced to take part in a yearly walking contest with life or death stakes. Hamill and Judy Greer are the major adult presences in the cast, which largely consists of young actors including Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, and Roman Griffin Davis.

X Lilja shared a photo from the set of The Long Walk with a caption reading "Here is the first photo of Mark Hamill as the Major in The Long Walk, currently shooting in Canada." The photo depicts Mark Hamill in military uniform being driven by another performer in uniform while resting his hands on car's metal railing. They are driving down what appears to be a quiet suburban street. While Stephen King himself retweeted the photo, giving the post an air of legitimacy, it has not been officially confirmed that Hamill will indeed be playing the Major.

While Lilja's post was taken down, click here to view the set photo on X via Club Stephen King.

What This Long Walk Set Photo Means

Mark Hamill Is Adding Another Villainous Role To His Roster

While this set photo does not technically confirm that Mark Hamill will be playing the Major in the Stephen King movie, it does appear to confirm that he will be part of the military faction patrolling the walking contest. This means that he will likely be responsible for orchestrating the deaths of more than 100 teenagers over the course of the movie. While his character could ultimately occupy more of a moral gray area, it seems more than likely that he will be positioned as a villain in the majority of the story.

[Hamill has] a new, relatively rare opportunity to bring that gravitas to live-action.

Should that be the case, it means that Hamill has a prime opportunity to add another villainous character to his roster. Although he is best known for playing the iconic hero Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, he has gone to the Dark Side many times in recent years, most frequently playing villains as a voice actor with roles including The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Chucky in Child's Play (2019). However, The Long Walk gives him a new, relatively rare opportunity to bring that gravitas to live-action.

Our Take On This Long Walk Set Photo

Mark Hamill's Casting Could Help The Movie Considerably

The Long Walk is a particularly dark Stephen King book, and this set photo proves that Hamill's presence could effectively bring its themes to life. Although he has played his fair share of villains, his face is still most commonly associated with heroism and trustworthiness. This would further highlight the way that the authority figures in the dystopian future America that is the setting of the story have failed the teenagers who are being forced through the grueling gauntlet at its center.

Source: @LiljasLibrary/X & @ClubSTEPHENKING/X