Star Wars' Mark Hamill Believed Returning as Luke Skywalker For Disney's Sequels Would Be a 'Mistake,' But Felt Compelled After Harrison Ford Signed On

Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, has said helium was initially reluctant to instrumentality successful his iconic Star Wars role, believing that Disney would beryllium incapable to "catch lightning successful a vessel twice."

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hamill admitted helium had "real reservations" astir agreeing to return, and believed helium wouldn't beryllium the lone 1 of the saga's classical formed to crook Disney down — until helium work that adjacent Harrison Ford was coming backmost arsenic Han Solo.

"I had existent reservations astir coming back," Hamill said. "I thought it would beryllium a mistake. You can't drawback lightning successful a vessel doubly — they should truly absorption connected a caller procreation of characters. And I thought, 'Well, Harrison is not going to bash it anyway.' You could spot his irritation with perpetually having to speech astir Han Solo.

"Once I saw successful the property that helium had accepted," Hamill continued, "I felt similar I had been drafted — due to the fact that if I'm the lone 1 who says no, I'll beryllium the astir hated antheral successful nerd-dom."

Hamill went connected to look arsenic Luke Skywalker successful each 3 of the series' sequel trilogy movies, with a cameo astatine the extremity of The Force Awakens, a important relation successful The Last Jedi, earlier a shorter quality successful Rise of Skywalker.

Of course, Hamill has gone onto reprise the quality of Luke Skywalker again since, digitally de-aged but physically on-set for respective episodes of deed Disney+ TV amusement The Mandalorian. When asked wherefore the histrion had felt compelled to instrumentality erstwhile much there, Hamill gave a abstracted reason.

Mark Hamill. Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

"The crushed I did Mandalorian was that Luke had a opening and an end. There was nary middle. It was similar making a trilogy astir James Bond arsenic a young lad who archetypal became alert of the Secret Service and wanted to beryllium a portion of it. Part 2 was him grooming to beryllium an agent. Part 3 is earning his licence to termination — The End. No From Russia With Love, Dr. No oregon Goldfinger. You ne'er got to spot Luke arsenic a Master Jedi astatine the highest of his powers."

"He was the astir idealistic quality successful that series," Hamill continued. "He was idiosyncratic who would instrumentality adversity and treble down and travel backmost and antagonistic his setbacks. We didn't spot immoderate of that. So erstwhile I got the chance, I thought, 'Geez, this is wonderful.' I deliberation [Mandalorian writers and directors] Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, boy, bash they get Star Wars. They get it. They're speaking the aforesaid connection that George did successful a mode that I questioned successful the sequels."

Reflecting connected his vocation overall, Hamill recalled auditioning for the movie mentation of Amadeus but not getting the part, aft being told his clip successful a postulation far, acold distant had near him typecast. "It was disappointing," Hamill said. "But everyone has their ain trajectory. I had my challenges, and different radical person antithetic challenges.

"I don't person to beryllium a starring man," helium concluded. "I'm blessed conscionable to beryllium a moving stiff, and that's what I was for the longest time. All I wanted to bash erstwhile I started retired was marque a surviving doing what I emotion to do. I didn't privation to beryllium Tom Cruise. And, by those standards, I succeeded acold beyond my expectations."

Image credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social