Since the original Star Wars back in 1977, Mark Hamill has been a constant for the franchise alongside Original Trilogy costars Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford. From gazing out longingly at the twin suns of Tattooine to rocking the Chanel boots and schooling his nephew in front of the First Order, audiences have watched him bring Luke Skywalker to mostly live-action life time and again. But now, Hamill thinks it’s time to officially move on.
In a recent interview with ComicBook for his upcoming movie Life of Chuck, the actor said he’s appreciative to George Lucas “letting me be a part of [Star Wars] back in the humble days when he called it ‘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.” (That, and with Luke dead as of Last Jedi, he has no desire to come back as a nude Force ghost.)
Going forward, Hamill thinks the people in charge of Star Wars should “focus on the future and all the new characters.” He’s not wrong, but it’s a funny as hell time to say it, as it’s been a tough ask for this franchise ever since Force Awakens came out nearly a decade ago. (The actor has even been a part of those complications!) And for all of Hollywood, well, Awakens pretty much wrote the book on legacy sequels that feature new, younger-generation characters hanging with returning elders, a formula that’s been copied in Scream, Jurassic Park, Marvel (several times), and even Karate Kid. What is the future if not the past revisited?
We’ll see how Star Wars handles the future with the post-Rise of Skywalker Rey movie and 2027’s Starfighter.
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