Mark Hamill has revealed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will focus on the newer cast members.

The first teaser trailer for the seventh instalment of the sci-fi series features newcomers such as John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Daisy Ridley, with the original trio of stars – Mark, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher – noticeably absent.

A picture of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill from one of the original films
Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill don’t feature in the first Episode VII trailer (AP/Press Association Images)

The 63-year-old actor told Yahoo Movies that wasn’t a surprise, saying: “This is about the new generation of characters; I think that’s the most important thing. It’s the opening act of a whole new approach to the storytelling.

“So I never thought that the stories would be – first of all, I never thought I’d be involved in it again, period. And then when George Lucas said that they wanted to do more, I rightly assumed that it wouldn’t be our story, because we had a beginning, a middle, and an end.”

A videograb of John Boyega taken from the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
John Boyega is among the Star Wars newcomers (Disney)

He continued: “This must be our offspring and the current generation, with us there lending the kind of support that Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness did in the original. So no, that didn’t surprise me.

“And I mean, I’m one of those people where I just think, ‘Keep me out of it. I’ll ruin it, I’m sure!’ I’ll show up and just ruin the whole thing.”

A picture of the Star Wars cast at a read-through
The Star Wars cast at a first read-through (Disney)

Still, that hasn’t stopped Mark from growing his facial hair for the new film, which will be directed by JJ Abrams.

“That is what I call my contractually obligated beard,” he said.

“Listen: I think they look fine on other people. It’s just not me. I mean, I never got used to it. But face foliage is almost a part of the costume. And it does bring a gravitas, perhaps unearned, but nevertheless, it makes a statement that they wanted to make, and I’m more than happy to oblige them.”

Mark, who will reprise his role as Luke Skywalker, also said he is impressed with the new technology on set.

“They never cease to amaze me with what they’re able to come up with, you know? I said, ‘How are you ever gonna top R2-D2, the most adorable droid in movie history?’ And then they have this new one,” he revealed.

“And when they were demonstrating how they did this thing, live on set – because it’s not CGI, that’s a live prop – I was just amazed. They let me play around with it. I was running it all around at the creature shop up in Pinewood.

“I’m telling you, it’s an absolute delight. And not having thought that I’d ever go back there, to go back into that world, is just – I get the chills. It’s just so much fun.”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is due for release on December 18, 2015.