Mark Hamill Did Not Want to Return For the ‘Star Wars’ Sequel Trilogy — Harrison Ford Changed His Mind
While the Star Wars sequel trilogy would largely fail to live up to fans’ expectations, it did give fans a chance to see Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa on the big screen again.
For the first time since Return of the Jedi hit theaters in 1983, the trio of heroes who helped make Star Wars one of the most popular franchises of all time finally returned to a galaxy far, far away.
Photo: Lucasfilm
Although some fans had qualms with how the older versions of Luke, Leia, and Han were written, no one can deny that it was great to see Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford re-enter the Star Wars universe.
As it turns out, however, Hamill initially did not want to come back.
“I Felt Like I Had Been Drafted”
In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hamill discussed how his Star Wars return came to be.
Photo: Lucasfilm
“I had real reservations about coming back. I thought it would be a mistake. You can’t catch lightning in a bottle twice — they should really focus on a new generation of characters. And I thought, ‘Well, Harrison [Ford] is not going to do it anyway.’ You could see his irritation with constantly having to talk about Han Solo,” he recalled.
Much to his surprise, however, Ford agreed to return to Star Wars. Hamill, then, felt like he had no choice.
Photo: DNA India
“Once I saw in the press that he had accepted, I felt like I had been drafted — because if I’m the only one [of the original trio, along with the late Carrie Fisher] who says no, I’ll be the most hated man in nerd-dom.”
The Return of Luke
Eventually, Hamill would make a brief cameo at the end of The Force Awakens, before returning in full for The Last Jedi.
While the actor has publicly voiced his issues with Luke’s character arc, he has continued to champion Star Wars projects.
He also reprised his role as Luke in The Mandalorian.
Image: Lucasfilm
In the end, fans should be thankful that we got to see the conclusion of Luke’s story. And to think, we have Harrison Ford to thank!
