According to Mark Hamill, ‘Star Wars’ no longer needs Luke Skywalker: “I just don’t see any reason” to play him again.
Warning, spoilers. The following article reveals key plot elements of “Star Wars – The Force Awakens” and its sequels.
Mark Hamill’s days as Luke Skywalker are pretty much over. During an interview on CBS News’ Sunday Morning show (via Variety), the Star Wars icon said the franchise no longer needs the hero who helped make it a global phenomenon.
Well, never say never, but I see no reason to. Let me put it this way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell that they don’t need Luke anymore. I did my time and that’s good. But that’s enough.
Mark Hamill was obviously the face of George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy alongside Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. He reprized his cult role decades later at the very end of The Force Awakens in 2015, before playing a key role in The Last Jedi in 2017. While the film ended with Luke’s death, the actor returned as a Force ghost in 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Finally, he played a younger Luke via motion capture and rejuvenating visual effects in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
“When I read the script for The Last Jedi, I said, ‘Okay, well, that’s it for me’“, he recently told Esquire magazine. “And you begin this process of disengaging from something that has been part of your life.”
Besides, if he came back for The Mandalorianit is mainly because he was “very impressed” by the series but he admits that seeing the end result of his rejuvenated face was “unusual”. If Lucasfilm could theoretically continue to produce projects starring Mark Hamillthe actor seems to rule this out.
People say, ‘Oh, now you can do a whole Luke series after Return of the Jedi. I said, ‘I don’t think so’. First of all, they don’t need to tell these stories, but if they do, they might find an actor with a suitable age.
Mark Hamill isn’t entirely wrong since Star Wars indeed has other stories to tell and is currently doing so in new projects on the big and small screen. The franchise will debut Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew on Disney+, while new films will include a sequel starring Daisy Ridley, titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order, slated for 2026, and a James Mangold-directed prequel film about Dawn of the Dark. Jedi. And even if the mandate of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker appears to be over, it will forever be tied to the beloved franchise.
Check out the actor’s full interview in CBS’s Sunday Morning show below: