Mark Hamill's next gig: comic book consultant

Mark Hamill will apply the force to an upcoming superhero comic book series called "NEW-GEN," the comic's creators announced Thursday.

The man better known as Luke Skywalker will serve as a creative consultant for the franchise, including an upcoming live action feature film production.

The announcement came at New York Comic-Con this week, where the "Star Wars" actor is something of a minor deity.

To introduce Hamill, the company will release a special six-issue graphic novel, "NEW-GEN: Volume One," featuring a "forward" from Hamill who shares his thoughts on this next-generation comic franchise that evolves around the battle over nanotechnology.

Also joining the "NEW-GEN" team for the upcoming live action feature film are producer Mace Neufeld ("The Hunt for Red October"), co-producer and first assistant director Kim H. Winther ("X-Men: First Class"), director of photography/cinematographer David Tattersall ("Star Wars: Episodes I, II, III"), visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun ("The Day the Earth Stood Still"), production manager John H. Starke ("The Punisher"), production designer Oliver Scholl ("Jumper") and composer Christopher Young ("Spider Man 3").

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"NEW-GEN" founder and creator J.D. Matonti will helm the production as the feature's director, with the franchise's Julia Coppola and Chris Matonti serving as the film's executive producer and producer.

The series is printed and distributed by Marvel Comics, "NEW-GEN," but is also billed as a transmedia property with its tentacles in everything from merchandise to mobile, video games, the company said."