Mark Hamill Discusses Potential Return to the 'Star Wars' Universe
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Mark Hamill is about to make his debut in Bert Kreischer's Russian espionage comedy The Machine, hitting theaters on Friday—just a few years removed from his scene-stealing turn on FX's What We Do in the Shadows. But while Hamill may be turning to more comedic roles at this stage in his career, of course he'll always be best known as Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise.
In a new Esquire profile, the 71-year-old was dutifully asked whether he might appear in any future Star Wars projects, now that he can appear in virtually any timeline within the character's life with the help from CGI. Hamill admits that he initially thought 2017's Star Wars: The Last Jedi would be "it" for him, considering that his character (SPOILER ALERT) dies at the end of the film.
"You start that process of disengaging from something that's been a part of your life," he recalled.
But as we now know, that was before Jon Favreau came knocking to land Hamill for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which he appears as a de-aged Luke with his likeness and voice digital recreated, with the help from a younger doppelgänger brought in to help film scenes. In theory, a deepfaked Luke Skywalker could star in his own series; though Hamill eschews that idea.
"People say, 'Oh, now you're going to be able to do a whole series of Luke post-Return of the Jedi.' I said, 'I don't think so,'" he explained. "First of all, they don't need to tell those stories, but if they do, they could get an age-appropriate actor."
However, after Disney announced three new big-screen Star Wars projects in early April, including a film that will pick up 15 years after 2019's The Rise of Skywalker—in which Hamill also appeared as a Force spirit—it certainly leaves the door open for additional cameos. Will we see Hamill as Luke one last time? The long and short of it is that he can't say, but the door is not exactly closed, either.
"One thing you learn working for Lucasfilm: everything is confidential," Hamill teased. "Everything is confidential. So, if I were involved, I wouldn't be able to tell you. And if I were not involved, I wouldn't be able to tell you. So, I don't know. We'll all find out together, I guess."
Well, we can probably draw our own conclusions here. Though, it would be surprising if Disney didn't tap Hamill at least one more time—especially considering that the upcoming film will follow Rey (Daisy Ridley) as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order. But like the man, said, we'll all find out together.
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