A 10-year-old, unreleased Mark Hamill film has finally received a release plan. Best known for his work in Star Wars, Hamill has had a long and successful career in film and television. He starred in such projects as Corvette Summer, The Big Red One, The Flash, and The Batman Animated Series as the voice of Joker. He is set to appear in writer-director Mike Flanagan's upcoming Netflix horror-drama miniseries, The Fall of the House of Usher, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Now, one of Hamill's previously produced, yet unreleased films, will finally see the light of day.
Per Variety, Screen Media has purchased the North American distribution rights to a 10-year-old action comedy film starring Hamill. Titled Virtually Heroes, the movie would star Supergirl's Robert Baker as a character stuck in a Call of Duty-inspired video game who must battle the Vietcong while guided by a wise monk, played by Hamill. Directed by G.J. Echternkamp and produced by Roger Corman, the film will receive a limited theatrical release in December before streaming on Popcornflix in February 2023. Virtually Heroes will also star Bosch's Brent Chase and Sequestered's Katie Savoy.
Conceived by Corman as a cheap way to make a film by primarily using war stock footage, Echternkamp and writing partner Matt Yamashita used various scenes from older Corman movies to write Virtually Heroes. The goal was to create a low-budget movie with a big-budget aesthetic. However, when the film entered the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Virtually Heroes was met with a negative critical reception, and the movie was never picked up for distribution. With Screen Media's purchase, audiences can finally see Hamill's Virtually Heroes on the big screen.
Source: Variety