Mark Hamill Says Star Wars Doesn't Need Luke Skywalker Anymore

Mark Hamill says he's done playing Luke Skywalker... although he's gone back on that particular word before.

In an interview with Esquire in May of 2023, Hamill opened up about his decades-long career, including the few times in the past decade where he's returned to a galaxy far, far away to return to his iconic role of Luke Skywalker. After working with Rian Johnson on the sequel trilogy and appearing as an older, grizzled Luke in "The Last Jedi," Hamill said he was ready to hang up his lightsaber for good.

"When I read 'The Last Jedi's' script, I said, 'Ok, well, that's it for me," Hamill said. "And you start that process of disengaging from something that's been a part of your life." But when Jon Favreau came knocking with an offer to use a stand-in and de-aging technology to appear in the "Star Wars" shows "The Mandalorian" and "Book of Boba Fett," Hamill was impressed, and he did return. That doesn't mean he thinks it's a good idea going forward, though.

"People say, 'Oh, now you're going to be able to do a whole series of Luke post-'Return of the Jedi,'" Hamill continued. "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."

Hamill did reprise his role as a younger Luke Skywalker on both "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," but as he tells Esquire, the process wasn't exactly simple. A stand-in, Graham Hamilton, came in to work on set, and their performances were digitally combined when the scene was completed. De-aging technology was used on Hamill, and his lines were stitched together using previous vocal performances from the "Star Wars" films. Though the final product looks seamless, Hamill admits that the experience was strange, telling Esquire, "It is unusual to see yourself like that." Plus, he makes an excellent point about how often this technology could be used to help him come back yet again: "It can't be cheap."

So why was it necessary for Luke to return? At the end of Season 2 of "The Mandalorian," he helps Grogu (often referred to as "Baby Yoda") and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) out of a bind by decimating some droids, then taking the young Grogu with him for Jedi training. In "The Book of Boba Fett," we see some of their training regimen before Grogu returns to Din, and the two resume their journey around the galaxy. 

Hamill seems pretty confident that he won't be returning to the "Star Wars" universe any time soon. He's certainly busy enough — he currently lends his voice to animated shows like HBO's "Harley Quinn" series as The Joker, and he's become known for voice work over the years thanks to work on shows like "Avatar: The Last Airbender," the animated "Spider-Man" series, and even movies like the "Child's Play" remake in 2019. He's not totally ruling anything out, though. Whether or not he'd return to his role as Luke a few more times is, apparently, still possible.

"One thing you learn working for Lucasfilm: everything is confidential," Hamill said, slyly side-stepping whether or not we'll see him in another "Star Wars" project. "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." As Esquire notes, a future "Star Wars" movie will feature Luke's mentee Rey (Daisy Ridley) trying to restore the Jedi Order... so maybe Hamill will don his robes one more time.

For now, you can watch Hamill in all of his various "Star Wars" projects on Disney+.