Star Wars Hero Skywalker's Pants Under the Hammer

The pants worn by actor Mark Hamill in the first Oscar-winning "Star Wars" film are being sold at auction and could go for up to $100,000, auctioneers announced Monday.

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 will be put up for auction on Tuesday, with an estimated sale price of $70,000-$100,000.

"'Star Wars' is one of those rare cinematic experiences that most people remember their whole lives," said Nate D. Sanders, whose company is auctioning the pants in Los Angeles.

"It's hard to believe now, but 'Star Wars' in 1977 was not a 'go' from the start. Several studios passed on making it. But now, we look back on it, over 35 years later, and it's the 3rd highest grossing movie of all time."

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 Co 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.