Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars the last jedi Lucasfilm

Mark Hamill Only Returned to STAR WARS Because of Harrison Ford

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Eric Diaz | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 4:56 PM ET

A decade ago, Mark Hamill returned as Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens, after a 32-year absence. But it was a return that nearly didn’t happen. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the iconic actor revealed that the only reason he came back was because of Harrison Ford. He never thought Ford, who once asked George Lucas to kill off Han Solo, would ever fly the Millennium Falcon again. But when he did, along with Carrie Fisher, Hamill didn’t want to be the odd man out. Here’s what he told THR:

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 is not going to do it anyway.’ Once I saw in the press that he had accepted. I felt like I had been drafted — because if I’m the only one who says no, I’ll be the most hated man in nerd-dom.

Despite his reservations, Hamill was happy to return to play younger Luke in The Mandalorian. Or at least provide Luke’s face and voice. He was always bothered that he never got the chance to play Luke at his peak. He told THR “The reason I did Mandalorian was that Luke had a beginning and an end. There was no middle… You never got to see Luke as a Master Jedi at the peak of his powers.” Both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett provided that for him.

Luke Skywalker with Grogu on his back on The Book of Boba Fett Lucasfilm

In the back of his mind, we believe Hamill must have at least suspected that he’d wield his lightsaber again one day. As far back as the ’80s, Hamill mentioned that George Lucas always planned his return as the elder mentor figure. Someone “passing down Excalibur to the next generation.” Although back then, Lucas thought this return for Episode VII would film in 2011. Hey, he was only off by about four years, as The Force Awakens hit theaters in 2015. Whatever Hamill may think of his sequel return, we believe his performance in The Last Jedi was award-worthy, and we stand by that.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

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