Mark Hamill on Recasting Luke Skywalker, Keeping Lucasfilm Secrets, and More
Mark Hamill recently sat down with Esquire for a lengthy interview to promote his upcoming film, The Machine, an action-comedy starring Bert Kreischer, where Hamill plays Kreischer’s estranged father, Albert Kreischer. With such an extensive interview, it’s impossible for Star Wars not to surface during the conversation. Hamill comments on a few items, most notably about the possibility of exploring Luke Skywalker’s adventures in the New Republic era, his possible involvement in the upcoming New Jedi Order movie starring Daisy Ridley, as well as his relationship with Carrie Fisher.
Following the success of young Luke in The Book of Boba Fett and seeing how well it worked for much longer than at the end of The Mandalorian season 2, there was some talk online about possibly exploring a young Luke Skywalker series with Mark Hamill de-aged. The actor addressed as much in the interview, saying that, if Lucasfilm was interested in that story, they should definitely recast the part with a younger actor:
“People say, ‘Oh, now you’re going to be able to do a whole series of Luke post-Return of the Jedi.’ I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ First of all, they don’t need to tell those stories, but if they do, they could get an age-appropriate actor.”
Following this train of thought to any potential future cinematic involvement with Lucasfilm, the topic of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s upcoming Star Wars movie was brought up. The story takes place 16 years after Luke passed away, but since the character was brought back as a Force ghost in The Rise of Skywalker, there could certainly be room for that to happen again, as Rey tries to rebuild the Jedi Order. When asked about it, Hamill was characteristically tight-lipped:
“One thing you learn working for Lucasfilm: everything is confidential. Everything is confidential. So, if I were involved, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. And if I were not involved, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. So, I don’t know. We’ll all find out together, I guess.”
It’s easy to speculate at this stage, but it’s certainly not an emphatic “no.” Although these days, even a negative response doesn’t rule out an actor’s involvement with notable recent examples being Liam Neeson’s involvement in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Lars Mikkelsen’s involvement in Ahsoka, both of whom assured us they hadn’t even been approached about the projects. At the same time, Kathleen Kennedy has also warned us not to expect many Force ghosts or flashbacks in the forthcoming film.
Hamill goes on at length about his close friendship with Carrie Fisher, how honored he was to speak at her recent posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony, as well as how touched he was that Harrison Ford and George Lucas attended his own. Regarding his relationship with Carrie Fisher, he reminisces:
“I have to tell you, we had a tumultuous relationship. We could be as loving and supportive as possible, then we could have big arguments and say, “Well, I never want to speak to you again,” and not speak for six months. But every time you came back, you picked up right where you left off. We had a connection that is special.”
Check out the full interview here. Hamill’s film, The Machine, is in theaters in the U.S. beginning today.
When she isn't watching her friends and family's eyes glaze over at the mention of The Clone Wars, she's at the park with her dog, Melvin, or on the couch with a book in one hand and a drink in the other. Physically, she lives in Ohio; spiritually, she lives in Naboo.
