Mark Hamill Says Lucasfilm Should Recast Luke Skywalker
Ever since the Star Wars Expanded Universe was deemed non-cannon by Disney and Lucasfilm, fans have been clamoring for Star Wars to further explore Luke Skywalker’s journey post-Return of the Jedi.
After fans got a glimpse of the Jedi Master at the height of his power in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, they instantly wanted more.
Hamill’s Return As “Young Luke”
In both of those series, actor Mark Hamill returned to reprise his role, although due to the actor’s age, Lucasfilm had to use CGI to de-age Hamill.
When it came to shooting, Graham Hamilton, his on-set ‘replacement’, would act the scene out exactly has Hamill had. Then, a computer would splice the two together.
In a recent interview, Hamill admitted that returning to young Luke freaked him out a little bit.
The inclusion of Luke Skywalker in the broader post-Return of the Jedi galaxy, however, further tied in The Mandalorian, and specifically Grogu, to the stories that came before them.
It also gave audiences a chance to see Skywalker as the legendary Jedi that he was in the Expanded Universe for the first time.
“Get An Age-Appropriate Actor”
Since his apperance, rumors have swirled that Lucasfilm could create a Luke Skywalker stand-alone series, with a de-aged Hamill reprising his role.
While such a series would surly help to flesh out the Jedi’s story, Hamill doesn’t seem thrilled with the idea.
“It is unusual to see yourself like that. It can’t be cheap. 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.”
While Hamill may insist that Lucasfilm doesn’t need to tell a post-Return of the Jedi Luke story, I disagree.
Outside of those who grew up when the original trilogy was released, Luke Skywalker is almost an afterthought.
Much more time has been put into developing other Jedi such as Ezra Bridger, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even Anakin Skywalker.
We have seen these characters grow and develop, watched how powerful they became. Outside of his brief time in The Mandalorian, we have yet to see any evidence that Luke is all that powerful, or important outside of his redemption of Vader.
For a character that the universe seems to revolve around, Luke Skywalker to this point has been underwhelming.
Would Star Wars Recast The Role?
Hamill’s second point, that a younger actor (Sebastian Stan?) could assume the role of Luke Skywalker is a fair one. Based on the reception to 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, which saw Alden Ehrenreich assume the iconic character of Han Solo from Harrison Ford, I doubt that Lucasfilm, or Disney, loves the idea.
Whether or not we get any more of “young Luke”, the story of Skywalker is likely not over. With Daisy Ridley set to reprise her role as Rey Skywalker in an upcoming feature film, it seems like that Force Ghost Luke will make an apperance.
Outside of that, it doesn’t seem Hamill has any interest in returning to the character, which is a shame.
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