'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' is an upcoming adventure-fantasy film directed, co-produced and co-written by J.J. Abrams. Mark Hamill returns as Luke Skywalker but with a villainous twist. The actor also talked about his experiences filming in Ireland.

According to /Film, Mark Hamill's return to the franchise will be a surprise for long-time fans as he is revealed to have joined the evil forces. Hamill will be reprising his role as the iconic Luke Skywalker who plays hero to the original trilogy in the science-fiction series. Speculations continue to emerge regarding Hamill's villainous role and the latest has fanned rumors even further.

The rumors began when Hamill's Luke wasn't featured in any of the upcoming film's marketing material. The actor himself hinted, "Rest assured, Luke will appear in TFA, although it's a fair bet that he won't quite be the innocent farm boy we met back in A New Hope...Obviously you're seeing him in a very different time in his life... There are lots of surprises in this movie. You're going to love it."

Hamill, however, briefly appeared in a featurette containing behind-the-scenes footage as well as interviews with cast and crew members. According to an article by iDigital Times, the 64-year old actor and filmmaker will definitely be playing a significant role in J.J. Abrams' 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens'.

Although the actor had been remarkably missing in various teasers, trailers and posters, he recently donned Stormtropper gear as he went undercover in Hollywood Boulevard for charity movement #ForceForChange. The last time he was seen in the iconic white costume was in 'Star Wars: A New Hope' when he infiltrated the Death Star together with Chewbacca, Obi Wan Kenobi and Han Solo in order to save Leia.

Meanwhile, Hamill talked about his experience shooting in Ireland according to The Week. He said, "It reminded me of when I was in Tunisia on the salt flats. If you could get into your own mind and shut out the crew and look at the horizon, you really felt like you were in a galaxy far, far away. I had that same wave of emotion happen to me when I was on Skellig Michael in Ireland. I wasn't anticipating it."

Principal photography began in Pinewood Studios in England and moved on to various locations around Iceland, Abu Dhabi and Ireland.

'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' is an upcoming adventure-fantasy film scheduled to be released on December 18, 2015. It is the continuation of the saga first created by George Lucas. The newest film is directed by J.J. Abrams and is set to feature the return of Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Leia and Harrison Ford as Han Solo.