Having bid farewell to the galaxy far, far away with December’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mark Hamill is currently back doing the press rounds for his latest project, a guest role in FX’s vampire comedy series What We Do In the Shadows, although naturally – as has been the case his entire career – much of the conversations revolve around Star Wars and his iconic role as Luke Skywalker.
Speaking to w, Hamill addressed the divisive fan response to the Sequel Trilogy, during which he acknowledged his own misgivings about some of the creative decisions, describing his experience with the three new movies as “bittersweet”.
“I don’t know when, over the period of time, fandom became so contentious,” said Hamill. “But people are really opinionated, and you can’t help but be opinionated yourself, because you’ve lived with the character so long. So whether it was on Episode VII, VIII or IX, I’d have disagreements, and I would say to whoever it was, “Well, I don’t know if that’s right.’ But everyone shares the same goal: you want to make the best movie you can.”
“I love the new cast,” he continued. “I think the characters are great and all the actors are just perfect. I wish I’d gotten to work with them more, obviously, because I was so isolated. But you know, I never expected to come back at all. It was bittersweet, but I was able to enjoy it from a different perspective than years ago when I was in my twenties. So it was just fun to be a part of it, and it was sad in a way, because I knew it would be the last time I’d ever play Luke.”
SEE ALSO: Mark Hamill says Star Wars doesn’t need Luke Skywalker anymore, rules out any return
Hamill made no secret that he wasn’t enthused by the treatment of Luke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the actor even going so far as to reveal that he “fundamentally” disagreed with everything director Rian Johnson had in store for the character and that “he’s not my Luke Skywalker”. Couple that with his minimal involvement in both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it’s not difficult to see why Hamill may have found the whole experience bittersweet from a personal perspective.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).
