Star Wars hero's pants auctioned for $36,100

The pants worn by actor Mark Hamill in the first Oscar-winning "Star Wars" film went under the hammer Tuesday for $36,100, AFP reports according to auction house's website. The young Jedi Knight wore the sand-colored regular Levi's pants throughout the 1977 movie, which launched the world-beating franchise by director George Lucas. The pants had a pre-sale estimate of $70,000-$100,000, said Los Angeles auctioneer Nate D. Sanders, who called the film "one of those rare cinematic experiences that most people remember their whole lives." There were 13 bids. The original movie, which launched the career of a young Harrison Ford, was soon followed by the equally popular "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and "Return of the Jedi" (1983). In the late 1990s, Lucas drew mixed reviews when he resurrected the blockbuster series with a prequel trilogy: "The Phantom Menace" (1999), "The Attack of the Clones" (2002) and "The Revenge of the Sith" (2005). Walt Disney Company announced plans to revive the series in October, when it bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion. Sci-fi and action filmmaker J.J. Abrams will direct "Episode VII," scheduled for release in 2015.