Mark Hamill’s always seemed more than happy to jump back into the role of Luke Skywalker for the Star Wars sequels, but now he’s opened up about some of his darker moments returning to the movie franchise that launched his career. That, of course, includes losing Carrie Fisher and then “endlessly grieving in public” during the Last Jedi press tour, but Hamill also touched on one plot point from the new Disney-produced movies that he wishes could have been different.
One of the best things about the Star Wars sequels trilogy has been revisiting the original heroes to find out what happened after they defeated the Empire, grew up, and eventually went their separate ways. But, as Hamill points out in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, all three original stars never got to reunite on screen.
“Everyone talks about the shock of realizing that on Force Awakens I don’t come in until the last page,” he said. “A bigger shock to me was them killing Han Solo before Luke could ever see his best friend again.”
The actor even tried to convince Abrams to change the movie so the two old buddies could reunite but was apparently rebuffed.
“They get the keys to the kingdom,” he said, “and they’re the deciders, so you just have to live with it.”
It’s frustrating to hear that there’s an alternate reality where Abrams listened to Hamill and we got to see Luke and Han reunite in The Force Awakens. And the idea of all three characters — Han, Luke, and Leia — together again is even more tantalizing.
Hamill almost sounds spiteful that Disney squandered this opportunity, and on the topic of “Star Wars fatigue,” he continued to pile on.
“Yeah, I think there is,” he said. “I’ve experienced it, to a certain degree. But they never listen to my ideas anyway, so who needs ‘em?!”
Whatever happens next in the Star Wars franchise, it sounds like Hamill is done playing Luke Skywalker. At least for the moment. He’s slated to appear in Episode IX later this year despite the fact that he “died in VIII.” After that, Disney is pushing the franchise in new directions far, far away from the story that began with Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill back in 1977.
Star Wars: Episode IX will be released in theaters on December 20, 2019.
