UPDATED: Mark Hamill Grateful For Luke’s Return In The Mandalorian
Luke Skywalker’s Return Meant A Lot To Mark Hamill….
Is there an actor more identified by one role more than Mark Hamill? For good or for bad, the veteran and prolific performer IS Luke Skywalker.
And after his character’s (heroic) demise in The Last Jedi and ghostly return in The Rise of Skywalker, Hamill had — by all accounts — come to terms with the end of Luke, happy to see the character fade into the twin sunset.
Mark Hamill on Star Wars: “What an extraordinary journey it’s been….”
However, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni gave Star Wars fans, and Hamill himself, a holiday gift for the ages.
In the final act of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, Luke Skywalker — literally — swooped in to save everyone in true “ignite the green” fashion.
Luke’s Appearance Made Sense
As a fan of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, someone who truly loves the Original Trilogy, I also understand that the Sequel Trilogy need not be made with 40 to 50-year-old fans squarely in mind. So, thankfully, I had zero expectations for Luke Skywalker during Rey’s story.
Not everyone falls into this category. Need I say more?
Anyway, this Skywalker appearance was different. It made sense to almost everyone. And it can provide a measure of closure to anyone who wished to see Jedi Master Luke Skywalker tear “stuff” up. And, for those of us for whom Luke’s return was a bonus, Skywalker’s “walk to the bridge” continued to fill in important facets of Star Wars canon.
Hamill Tweets
Meanwhile, tears were shed by many, many a fan. And those tears may have been shed by @HamillHimself.
Sometimes the greatest gifts are the most unexpected and something you never realized you wanted until it was given.#ThankYouJonAndDave 🙏 pic.twitter.com/4nNjSvbvIN
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) December 30, 2020
Then, in the wake of “kerfuffle” regarding reaction to Luke’s return, Hamill posted:
#NoWords-Seeing fan's reactions to Luke's return is something I will cherish forever. Their anticipation seeing the X-Wing/Ep. 6 Robes/a lightsaber/a GREEN lightsaber/a gloved hand/an ungloved hand/a Force choke/R2-was OVERWHELMING & very moving to me-1/2 https://t.co/gzKn9IVPf6
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) December 31, 2020
And later updated:
I'm a fan myself, so I knew true fans would love it, but to see them thrilled beyond belief with the exuberance of children, whooping it up, screaming in ecstasy, the tears of sheer joy…it's a rollercoaster of emotions I'll never forget. #I_LOVE_UPFs 2/2 https://t.co/NogCFE5rqL
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) December 31, 2020
Personally Grateful
Frankly, for this Star Wars fan, it was cathartic to see my hero — the guy I “played” over and over as a little kid — slay the metaphorical demons of 2020 one by one.
Sometimes, as Mark said, you didn’t know what you wanted “until it was given.”
And now that it is given, I cherish it all; the X-wing, the lit green lightsaber, every stroke of the laser sword, Hamill’s voice, and R2D2 all ended this awful year on a high note.
For that, I am grateful to everyone involved, most especially Mark Hamill.
Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Goodbye 2020. And good riddance. May the Force be with us all in 2021.
