Star Wars Actor Mark Hamill Lends His Voice To Ukraine’s Air Raid App

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in “Stars Wars” has lent his famous voice to “Air Alert”, an app synced with Ukraine’s air defence system. With a heavy baritone, the voice of Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars” says, “Attention. Air raid alert. Proceed to the nearest shelter” to urge people to seek cover when Russia begins its aerial bombardment on Ukraine. 

When the air raid starts, the Air Alert app lets the Ukrainians know about the inbound Russian missile bombs and exploding drones. Hamill’s voice says, “Don’t be careless. Your overconfidence is your weakness.”

In California, actor Mark Hamill praises how Ukraine has “shown such resilience … under such terrible circumstances.” Ukraine is in its second year of war against Russia which reminds the actor of the “Star Wars” saga in which he talks about rebels combating and ultimately winning over the vast, murderous empire. 

He gave a “Star Wars” touch by doing a voice over in the English-language version of the air raid app, which was his way of extending a helping hand. 

In an interview with The Associated Press, an American news agency, Hamill said, “A fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with what’s going on in Ukraine. The Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically … It’s impossible not to be inspired by how they’ve weathered this storm.”

When the aerial bombardment gets over, Hamill says via the app, “the air alert is over” and signs off by saying, “May the Force be with you.”

In addition, Hamill is raising funds to provide reconnaissance drones for the Ukrainian forces positioned on the front line. “Star Wars”-themed posters with his autograph are being given through a lottery. 

He said, “Here I sit in the comfort of my own home when in Ukraine there are power outages and food shortages and people are suffering. It motivates me to do as much as I can.”

Though the app comes with the Ukrainian-language setting, having the voice of a woman, some Ukrainians prefer Hamill warning them about Russia’s aerial attacks whenever it’s about to happen.

There are days when the siren and the app send warnings every few hours, both day and night. Though sometimes it might be a false alarm, there are times when it is true and dangerous.  

A 24-year-old, Bohdan Zvonyk, an app user living in the western city of Lviv, says he likes Hamill’s voice over more than Ukrainian setting to improve his English and he is also a fan of “Star Wars”.

“Besides, we could use a little bit of the power that Hamill wishes us”, he says.

After the alert went off, Zvonyk was riding a trolley bus when Hamill’s voice began warning from his phone. He said the man after him “turned to me and said, smiling, ‘Oh, those damn Sith”, referring to the Russian forces.

The Sith are the vicious enemies of the righteous Jedi.

In the capital, Kyiv, a 38-year-old business manager named Olena Yeremina said Hamill’s sign-off “May the Force be with you” initially made her laugh. Now it brings humor and gives her strength.

“It’s a very cool phrase for this situation. I wouldn’t say that I feel like a Ukrainian Jedi, but sometimes this phrase reminds me to straighten my shoulders and keep working”, she said.

Sometimes the air raid app must be switched off. 

A Ukrainian security systems manufacturer, Ajax Systems, co-developer of the app, hopes that the power of Hamill’s voice may urge people outside Ukraine to install it on their devices, so they are aware of the anxiety Ukrainians undergo with distressing alarms and deadly aerial attacks.

Valentine Hrytsenko, the chief marketing officer at Ajax, said, “With Mark’s approach, it won’t be so terrifying. But they will somehow understand the context.”

With the air-raid alarms erupting over 19,000 times across Ukraine in the invasion in the first year, it is obvious that “people are getting tired,” he said.

The Air Alert app has already been downloaded more than 14 million times.

Hamill applauds that the sci-fi saga is once again transporting people, even if just temporarily, to its distant galaxy. He said, “It does inspire people. Everyone flashes back to being 6 years old again. And if the movie can help people get through hard times, so much the better.”