Beards

No need to photoshop Luke with a beard, here!

[image=http://www.markhamill.com/images/wc3.jpg]

Thank you Wing Commander III!

As a sporter of the full beard from a combination of being Muslim and a huge Obi-Wan fan... I'd like to see Luke with a beard for a little while at least. I do believe he used a beard illusion in the much maligned The Crystal Star.

 

"Frozen in time" is exactly the right phrase, as they apparently didn't want to change the movie appearance during the Bantam era. Del Rey then went for the hair-combed-back-look to make him look older, but that was it. I think a beard would have been an essential visual element to make him into the new Obi-Wan, and while they could still add it now, it's veeeery late. Plus, the Force ghost doesn't have one anyway.

I think it's excellent how the movies (especially the prequels) allowed visual changes for tor the characters to show the passing of time and the change of circumstances. The ROTS poster always reminds me of how unlikely it is that guys who look like Anakin and Obi-Wan in that movie would draw huge crowds to watch a movie, as they are not exactly up to modern hairstyle...


Crystal Star had a bearded Han and a full-face illusion by Luke that just looked different. I don't think that it necessarily had a beard, it was just a completely different face.

Evil Betrayal Illusion Luke's beard seemed like a reference to Mark Hamill sporting a beard now and then, maybe as an insider knowledge thing for fans who still see photos of him from time to time. And then, as the beard draws a compliment, I think that a bearded author (Allston) just might make his case for how good bearded men look...

...and as for the Harrison Ford photo - that's no beard, if you ask me That's stubble. Better look at The Fugitive or his Young Indy appearance.


Another thing that made a lot of sense was Jacen keeping his beard after Traitor, but I think he already shaved it off during Destiny's Way. Babylon 5 did exactly that; let a character keep a beard as a sign of change/growth in character. But I guess as much as beards are common in the SW movies, SW literature dislikes them. Someone should start an online petition for main character beards in SW literature.

 

The combed-back look was always lol for me, as Luke had a strange resemblance to Thorne Forrester in The Bold and the Beautiful.

And I don't like beards, they scratch.

 

Having one myself I certainly want to see Luke with a beard. I always imagined him with one during NJO/LOTF no matter what the narrative said, it made more sense than the boyish look we kept getting on the covers. A bearded version of the picture of Luke fighting Shimrra in the NEC is always how I imagined him. It'd be excellent if he finally got one in FOTJ (please Allston!). And as for his Force ghost, maybe he shaved right before he died? For all we know, that might be how he died.

 

Well we know Anakin changed his clothes...

 

And, you know... his FACE.

Maybe Luke grew the beard but for some inexplicable reason he appears as his younger self. Maybe he appears as his younger self because Cade is likely to be more familiar with young Jedi Hero Luke than bearded Jedi Grand Master-in-exile Luke. Or something.

Who cares, Luke needs a beard for a good portion of this series. "Aw, stang! BEN! Did you see what I did with my Tibanna powered space razor? I swear I put it in my travel kit... Well, I guess I can just let the beard grow out. Obi-Wan had one, I still think he's the coolest Jedi ever. I did name my kid after him, you know. Besides, lightsabers aren't good for shaving."

 

I consistently fail to grow a beard.

That being said, I think Luke would look rockin' with one...Leia, not so much.

 

Hmmm. It looks good on luke, but it pales in comparison to the Kyle Katarn Beard.

 

All beards pale in comparison to the Tagge Triangle.

[image=http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/7/75/Ormanface.jpg]

Bearded Luke needed to happen long ago. The ship has sailed.

 

http://www.mtv.com/shared/promoimages/movies/j/jumper/sam_jackson/281x211.jpg


Now Mace has the right idea goin on here. I dunno what's up with the bald look but this.. this is like Lando on steroids.

 

That's probably the worst hair SLJ ever touted.

In a long legacy of awful, awful hair.

 

This was my thought. Perhaps he grows a "beard" like I do; short and scraggly and in no way distinctive, so instead he just stays clean shaven.

They aren't allowed to age him realistically. As Sue Rostoni noted back in '03: "There are legal issues involved here -- we can't use photo reference of the actors as they appear now -- we have rights only to their likenesses as they appeared in the films. The cover artists have been "aging" the characters for the NJO series, but it's not an easy thing to do."

 

I'm sure they could use the photo likeness of the actors as they appear now as a reference and just alter them a little, no-ones going to know.

 

Lawyers know EVERYTHING. ;-) Apparently, the LFL folks can't even age the old likenesses too well; later in the same thread, Sue is asked, "If that's the case, then are there legal issues if, say, an artist creates a rendition that is "aged" *too* well? That looks too much like the original actor?", to which she responds, "Yep, this is exactly the case."

 

I would love to see a major character actually change, especially in appearance. It's pretty rare in the EU.

They've actually done a decent job screwing around with Luke's hair in the NJO era -- crew cut, movie-ish floppy hair, slicked-back -- but it's all looked kind of silly. I think a beard would be a good way to change the appearance without it looking too bad, and it would be a nice callback to Obi-Wan and seem in-character for Luke.

I also want Obi-Wan to transition from his TPM beardlessness to his AOTC beardedness by growing muttonchops, but that's a separate discussion.

 

You want Obi-Wan KenWOLVIE?

 

Running on the assumption that they'd still want the characters to look good and still look a lot like their movie selves, that shouldn't be a problem. Carrie looks completely different and Mark looks like hell. They'd obviously age these characters gracefully, and I'm thinking Luke could end up looking a lot like Obi-Wan if he grows a beard. It would also fit well with the idea from the original scripts that Luke Skywalker was the old bearded Jedi war vet. Han would be the only problem in theory because I imagine they would be wanting something like what Harrison is now, but he is the person that the art has already aged the most, so...