LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Mark Hamill recently opened up about the end of his journey as Luke Skywalker in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. The actor revealed that he realized his journey as Skywalker was finally over while he was filming Rian Johnson’s 2017 ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ even though he knew he would be appearing as a Force ghost in become JJ Abrams' ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’.
“Well, the whole thing was emotional because when I read [Episode] VIII, I knew it was over,” Hamill said while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about his emotional reaction during the filming of the scene showing the sacking of Skywalker’s temple. “So I was relishing every moment, but also saying goodbye to all those people that I had associated with over the years. So I still miss them,” he added.
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‘I don’t have any expectations'
While Hamill’s iconic character met a peaceful end in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’, a young Skywalker returned to the screen in 2020 and 2022 for Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s Disney+ series ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett’. The makers created a post-‘Star Wars: Return of the Jedi’ Skywalker to help aid Grogu with the help of Hamill and deep fake technology, the publication noted.
However, despite news about his co-star Daisy Ridley returning to reprise the role of Rey in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s untitled ‘Star Wars’ film set 15 years after the events of ‘Rise of Skywalker’, Hamill currently does not expect to return to the franchise with duties as a Force ghost. “No, I don’t have any expectations of that happening,” Hamill told the outlet.
The actor, 71, has in fact taken a step beyond his “galaxy far, far away,” to appear in his new film titled ‘The Machine’, which is inspired by Bert Kreischer’s 2016 stand-up comedy routine of the same name. The film, written by Kevin Biegel and Scotty Landes and directed by Peter Atencio, is currently running in theatres.
‘It’ll always be a part of me’
During his interview, Hamill also spoke about venturing into newer opportunities like ‘The Machine’ and stepping beyond the “type in live action.” “That’s what you look for really, because you don’t want to repeat yourself and do the same old same old every time. So that was part of the appeal of doing it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “First of all, I asked myself, ‘Would I see this movie myself if I wasn’t in it?’ and the answer was yes. The second I asked was, ‘Is there something I can bring to this that broadens my horizon?’ and I felt that it did,” Hamill added.
When asked if Hamill prefers if people ignore Luke Skywalker in the room while pitching him a role like in ‘The Machine,’ the actor replied, “Well, I don’t know that I look at it quite that way. Obviously, that’s a part of me and it’ll always be a part of me, but sometimes, other people think about it more than I do.” He further mentioned, “And in this case, it didn’t come up at all, unless it was unspoken by them. But sometimes, that’s a good thing, because people might have preconceived notions that are fun to blow up if you can.”
