Mark Hamill’s favorite Star Wars movie is the installment that flipped the entire saga on its head. As far as the ranking of Star Wars movies goes, there is often a lot of debate. Many people tend to have the same favorite, yet Star Wars has its share of divisive movies.

Upcoming Star Wars movies will be looking to be more widely approved, avoiding the controversy of both the prequel and sequel trilogies. This would align them more with George Lucas’ originals, the first three Star Wars movies in release order.

The original trilogy tends to be the most widely beloved of the Skywalker Saga, and even those involved in the production of those movies agree. Mark Hamill, for instance, revealed on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast in 2019 that his favorite of the bunch is The Empire Strikes Back, the movie that turned the Star Wars saga on its head.

Mark Hamill Loves The “Unexpected” Defeat Of Luke Skywalker

From The Final Moments Of The Empire Strikes Back

Hamill’s reasoning for this stems from The Empire Strikes Back‘s ending. Hamill outlined that he loves Empire due to how unexpected it was. More specifically, Hamill loved how it “was so unexpected to have the protagonist be so soundly defeated. Losing the hand and the dad Vader…” Interestingly, Luke being at his lowest point after the Vader twist resonated with Hamill.

Hamill goes on to mention other aspects, like the deeper delve into the Force and the introduction of iconic Star Wars characters like Yoda. However, there is no denying that the ending of The Empire Strikes Back is often what people latch onto. It seems as though this was true for Hamill himself, allowing Empire to be his favorite in the entire Skywalker Saga.

Most Star Wars Fans Will Totally Agree With Mark Hamill

As alluded to earlier, you would be hard-pressed to find a Star Wars fan who did not have The Empire Strikes Back at the top end of their franchise ranking. Most fans agree with Hamill for the same reason: Empire completely changed the Skywalker Saga. The twist that Vader was Anakin Skywalker is what catalyzed the prequels, after all.

If Empire‘s ending was different, the prequel trilogy may never have happened, and Star Wars may just have been a three-episode saga. That reveal, though, changed everything, explaining why Star Wars fans – and the likes of Mark Hamill – love it so much. The Empire Strikes Back changed everything and, without it, Star Wars may not be what it is today.