Mark Hamill has addressed the possibility of his Star Wars return, confirming that he’s finished his run and believes the franchise should move on. The heroes of the Star Wars original trilogy may have seen their stories end in the sequel trilogy, but the franchise as a whole loves to hop around the timeline, meaning they can return. Mark Hamill, for example, has twice now reprized the role of Luke Skywalker, and many viewers hope he’ll return again in upcoming Star Wars movie The Mandalorian and Grogu. But that seems unlikely.

Speaking to ComicBook.com, Hamill conceded he never expected Star Wars to define his career like this – but that he thinks his run is over.

“I am so grateful to George [Lucas] for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called ‘Star Wars’ ‘the most expensive low-budget movie ever made. We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that. But my deal is, I had my time. I’m appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.”

Hamill couldn’t resist cracking a joke about Luke Skywalker’s death in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. “And by the way, when I disappeared in [The Last Jedi], I left my robes behind. And there’s no way I’m gonna appear as a naked Force ghost.“

Mark Hamill Really Does Want To Move On As Luke Skywalker

He Believes He’s Pᴀssed On The Torch

This isn’t the first time Hamill has indicated he believes his Star Wars story is over. The very fact he’s repeating the point really does seem to underline it; Hamill isn’t just making a PR statement to misdirect fans. Rather, he wants audiences to understand that his relationship with Star Wars has come to an end. He believes the time has come to pᴀss the torch.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Luke Skywalker’s story should be over, of course. We recently learned that Hamill himself believes Sebastian Stan could play Luke, a popular fancast that would allow the Jedi Master to appear in Mandoverse movies and TV shows. Lucasfilm has traditionally been averse to recasting – Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy routinely blames recasts for the poor box office performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story – but there have been signs that may be beginning to change.

Our Take On Mark Hamill’s Argument

He Does Have A Point

Star Wars‘ aversion to recasting has been a bone of contention among the fanbase. It’s further required ever more expensive deepfake technology, with Lucasfilm digitally placing a reproduction of Hamill’s face on that of another actor. There’s been something of an uncanny valley effect undermining this, which has been rather distracting. It will be good to see this particular bad habit come to an end.

That said, I don’t believe Hamill is entirely right; there’s still clearly a lot to be said of Luke Skywalker’s story, and I can’t imagine Luke sitting out the war with Grand Admiral Thrawn. But Hamill is right that it’s time to pᴀss on the torch – to Daisy Ridley for her New Jedi Order movie(s), and perhaps to anyone who plays a recast Luke Skywalker. Star Wars does indeed need to move on.

Source: ComicBook.com