Mark Hamill Says That It’s Time For Him To Move On From The Star Wars Franchise

After having first played Luke Skywalker over 40 years ago, Mark Hamill has revealed that he thinks it’s time for him to move on from the Star Wars franchise.

Mark Hamill first played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: A New Hope over 40 years ago. That’s a long time to be playing one character, and we recently saw him take on the role again in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and very briefly in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The actor’s been talking recently about his future in the franchise. He recently revealed during an interview that he’s lost enthusiasm for the franchise and talked to Games Radar recently about Luke’s (SPOILER) death in The Last Jedi, no longer being about to work alongside Harrison Ford in the Star Wars universe, and Carrie Fisher’s passing and how that’s affected his future in the Star Wars franchise.

“I haven’t really thought about [Episode IX] because there’s such a sense of closure, Luke’s story is told. What more can I do?” Hamill told Games Radar. “And you know, you have to start disconnecting from it emotionally. The main thing [that shocked me in The Force Awakens] was – Han Solo is killed! I’ll never get to work with Harrison again. Luke will never see Han again. That’s what struck me, that was the first break, we lost a member of the band.”

Will Mark Hamill be in Star Wars: Episode IX?

Hamill went on to discuss how Luke’s story arc also seemed to be completed in The Last Jedi. “And then what happened with Luke [in The Last Jedi], I said ‘Okay, that’s the next link’ when I was still thinking I’ll come back as a Force ghost,” Hamill noted. “And then to lose Carrie in real life, I said ‘That’s it’. They say you can never go home again, and that for me was the real indication that it’s time to move on.”

It’ll be sad to see Star Wars without Mark involved since his return to the franchise in The Force Awakens. It’s been a real joy to see him back on-screen as Luke and he’s been a real breath of fresh air, despite being one of the returning cast members. I hope we get to see him in Episode IX, but I also very much understand this thinking behind wanting to leave Luke and Star Wars behind.

What you do you think? Will Mark Hamill be in J.J. Abrams’ Episode IX? Let us know in the comments below.