Few famous people seem to have navigated the rocky waters of celebrity—and especially online celebrity, where you’re always just one bad Instagram caption away from disaster—better than Mark Hamill. Having settled, seemingly comfortably, into his role as one of the elder statesmen of the science fiction and animation worlds, the Star Wars star fills his Twitter feed with cheerfully cranky comments, fun videos, attacks on the dumber excesses of our current presidential administration, and generally pleasant interactions with fans. So it’s not entirely surprising to see Hamill post a letter this weekend, expressing his long-running appreciation for all the people his role as “Luke Starkiller” has brought into his life. But it is, you know, nice.
Hamill—who also recently sent out his heartfelt condolences to the family of Andrew Jack, the Last Jedi actor who died earlier this week—addresses fans both young and old, thanking them for their dedication and enthusiasm to the franchise. Among other things, the letter reads as a gentle farewell to the series for the actor himself, which also isn’t a major shock; The Rise Of Skywalker marked a pretty definitive endpoint for his parts of the saga, regardless of what Disney figures out what to do with these movies next. (That being said, Hamill’s also someone who’s semi-“retired” from playing the Joker, his other signature role, more than once, so who can really say?) This being Twitter, the first replies to Hamill’s incredibly compassionate letter are, of course, people complaining about how Star Wars has been ruined by some decision or other along the last 40 years, but that’s pretty much just the cost of doing business on the internet. The sentiment itself still remains, and if you don’t feel a little twinge in your throat at that last “May the Force be with you,” well, you’re made of sterner midichlorians than us.
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“Never again.”“Mr. Hamill, they’re backing up a Brinks truck into your driveway.”“Well, maybe just one more.”
I don’t think he ever did it for the money per se but for the fans.I doubt, at any point, would Disney feel the need or even important enough to add more zero’s on his contract.
He’s always been great with the way he interacts with and appreciates the fans. One of the best. I was implying that this is not the end and he will be in another Star Wars movie and he will get paid a lot to do it.
Yeah, Ford seems to enjoy them a lot less but “something” keeps making him show back up. When I think about how many bands are still touring (well, not now, but you know) who had mega-hits in the 70’s and seem to actively hate each other, I will believe this is over when Hamill is dead. And given what happened to Leia, possibly not even then.
Mostly, although a prominent feature of the obits about Bill Withers who just died is that he got sick of the music business and happily walked away.He had the songwriting royalties for Lean on Me and Ain’t No Sunshine and his other hits, and decided to just invest them and live without the hassles of touring as an opening act for Jethro Tull. He even turned down licensing deals for TV and movie usage of his songs that he thought were too cheesy, since he didn’t feel he needed any more money and was happy with the big house he already had in LA.
Yeah, I’m a big fan of Withers partially because of that, but the reason it gets mentioned so much is because of what a weird anomaly it is. On a long enough timeline, the overwhelming majority come back. Not everyone, of course, but enough that some skepticism at these announcements is more than warranted. I mean, we got a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.
Fair enough. I realize many lose their money to multiple divorces or drugs or shady managers and the other usual suspects, but then you have guys like Billy Joel who clearly is sick of it all and doesn’t need another helicopter or mansion in the Hamptons, but still goes through the motions at Madison Square Garden.
Some of them still love it, but I’m surprised more of them don’t quit.
I saw Billy at Fenway a couple years ago, and he was having a great time.
In fairness to Harper Lee, that abomination only exists because her family took advantage of her decline.
Hamill actually candidly admitted he initially said he wouldn’t come back unless Ford did, and that he was half-hoping Ford would say no and get him off the hook.
And that something is Disney’s proprietary blend weed, well known as the smoothest buzz in the land.
I would not be surprised in the slightest if they made a new animated show set between the OT and ST and Hamill showed up voicing Luke in it. It’s directly in his wheelhouse and gets around that whole pesky “aging” thing.
He has been on record saying voice acting is his real passion. I could see them doing it, hopefully soon because even the voice does age. Part of the reason he stepped back from doing the Joker voice is because it was becoming to much of a strain in his voice.
That’s the best part about Luke though, it’s just his regular voice and theoretically shouldn’t put much strain on him.
If they do, they best do it soon. Voices age. For one of the new(ish) Batman cartoons they got Adam West and Burt Ward for, they ALSO got Lee Meriwether to do Catwoman (well, Eartha Kitt’s dead, so…)Meriwether was clearly game for it, but her voice also very clearly was one of an elderly woman trying to sound younger… Ward, too, sounded odd, given his now senior citizen voice was coming out of a teenage character. West manages to pull it off, barely, because his super-mannered delivery sounds weird anyway.The point being, voices can hide age for a while, but not forever.
I thought this about James Earl Jones coming back to Vader in Rogue One…dude’s still game, but Vader now sounds like an 85 year old man. I kind of wish they’d done something to fix it, not that it’d have made much of a better movie for me.
I kind of hope when they restart the franchise that they just jump ahead a couple of centuries and make a clean break from all of the fossilized strata that has accumulated over the years, including Luke.And I say that as someone who thought he was tremendous in Last Jedi and really liked every moment he was on screen, including the milk scene. They need a fresh start.
I’m sure the money ain’t bad. He got kids!
Oh, no doubt but I just mean, they’re not going to literally pull up in a truck full of cash like Robert Downey Jr. to do another Iron Man.
It’ll be a sedan full of cash.
surely a corvette full of cash?
A Chevy Spark full of Republic credits?
A Chevy Spark full of Republic credits?
I see what you did there.
Now can The Trickster get back to Central City?
Didn’t he show up on a few episodes of the new Flash or am I dreaming that?
He was in an episode of each of the first three seasons but then this annual event stopped.
Not only is he in there, he’s basically reprising his version of the Trickster from the ‘90s Flash.
Plus, it gave him the opportunity to finally be the one to tell someone else “I am your father!”
The Trickster is basically his own live action Joker, and that’s what makes it so incredible.
He had one of the funniest lines in Justice League Unlimited: He’s sitting with some other villains in the bar, while they complain about the heroes that foiled them and one of them asks, “Do you know what we all have in common?”He answers (as the Trickster), “Bilateral symmetry?”Gets me every time! It’s just so random, yet perfect.
He has always been a real class act. There are some real good interviews with him where he honestly talks about how he never really felt typecast after Star Wars. He just knew that he didn’t really need to work that hard the rest of his life. It also opened him up to do what he really wanted to do which was voice acting. I never realized his role in Wizards pre-dated Star Wars. I love listening to him talk. I love his impression of Ford. I love how he take about Fisher and how it was impossible for anyone to meet her and not fall in love with her a little bit. How he talks about the rest of the cast and crew and everyone. He never says anything mean or scandals but you get that he isn’t holding back the bad, just that he’s a nice guy that saw the best in people. I think the biggest miss step in the Disney movies was not making a set of movies that allowed Ford, Hammil and Fisher to be in screen together again. I realize they wanted new characters for a new generation but Han and Luke should have met once more before this wrapped up.
I think the biggest miss step in the Disney movies was not making a set of movies that allowed Ford, Hammil and Fisher to be in screen together again. I realize they wanted new characters for a new generation but Han and Luke should have met once more before this wrapped up.This right here. Seriously, it’s one of my biggest complaints about the new trilogy. They should have had Han, Chewy, Leia and Rey find Luke at the end of the first movie. Since Ford wanted Solo dead, they could have killed him off at the start of the second film as motivation for Luke/Rey to defeat Kylo Ren.
Yeah. The Last Jedi really shit on the old characters. Especially Luke. It was just such a missed opportunity to treat things with respect and not repeat ad Infinitum the directors personal mantra: “Let the past die. Even if you have to kill it “. Was such a direct stab at the fans and old character actors. Just such a waste
As a Star Wars fan since age 9 in 1977 (and yes I will defend the prequels, despite their flaws), whatever positive or negative things one has to say about the sequels, those two words will always sum it up for me: “missed opportunity.”
His role in Wizards is pretty short. Little elf dude who is promptly shot dead. Oh Ralph Bakshi…
It still fascinating how his work in the two movies is intertwined.
Lucas went to bat for Bakshi at the time because the budget on Wizards was getting slashed (resulting in the heavily rotoscoped final battle we see in the finished film.) He wasn’t able to get them to budge – and even took a bit of a budget hit himself in the process, and he felt bad about that. Hamill being in Wizards was partially a ‘sorry I couldn’t do more for you’/consolation gesture in that he was able to free up Hamill to have enough time to record the role.
I love everything about the making of Wizards. From that story to Ralphs bizarre belief this was a family film. Its glorious.
I could be mistaken, but I got the sense that he was a little resentful of Star Wars in the late 90s and early 2000s, particularly in that time between the Special Editions and the prequels. But as one of those former little boys who dreamed of being Luke Skywalker I’m glad he came around and embraced his legacy. He’s a wonderful ambassador for the franchise, but more importantly he’s just a standup guy.
I do remember seeing him on Dinner for Five (which should tell you how long ago this was) and hearing him say that he’s very grateful to be part of Star Wars, but he would like to go one day without talking about it. Of course, this was when the movies were long in the rearview mirror for him, as opposed to a current going concern.
I think pretty much everyone, even non-fans like myself, wanted and expected a sequel trilogy with the original cast and I think all of us could have spitballed a better storyline. I would have started with a film concentrating on Luke, Han and Leia accompanied by a large ensemble cast of fresh faces who work their way up and finally beside the core three. The important thing would have been to balance nostalgia with fresh ideas and emphasize a good story over everything else. Also, never, ever forget to treat the characters with dignity and give them the respectful, heroic ending they deserve. After that you could go full Lean and Kurosawa epic with the prequels because that would be more appropriate and if you want to dramatically reimagine further sequels that’s fine too because you didn’t compromise the integrity of the original story. It really was a no-brainer.
You have to move on, in life. You can’t keep clinging to the past. Making a new trilogy with them all together would have been sad, not smart.
It’s always been amazing to me that for a while there he was one of the three or four most famous people in the world, and he somehow seems to have popped out on the other side of that experience as a completely normal, well-adjusted human being. Harrison Ford turned into a grumpy recluse, Carrie Fisher’s struggles are sadly well documented, but Hamill turned around and married a dentist, had a couple of kids and did generally whatever the heck he felt like while not turning into a self-parody or a q-anon nutter. It gives one a little hope for the species.
One thing I think is particularly good of him is that he tells any LGBTQI+ fans that Luke can be whatever sexuality and/or gender they need him to be. He has no preciousness over that, and fully supports people having those headcanons. I think he pretty much said, “If you believe Luke is gay, then of course he’s gay.” That’s a really cool attitude to extend to people who are often starved for positive representation.
I think the biggest miss step in the Disney movies was not making a set of movies that allowed Ford, Hammil and Fisher to be in screen together again. I realize they wanted new characters for a new generation but Han and Luke should have met once more before this wrapped up.I’m upvoting you because this is so truthful and heartfelt. I grew up with Star Wars. I am sick to death of how UPF’s bitch about how Disney ruined the series and all of the bullshit nitpicking they bring to the “conversation”. I def would have loved to see more of the original crew riding for one last adventure. It was certainly a missed opportunity, but still… seeing Han and Leia together, as well as Luke back on screen it pretty ok with me.
I’m not holding the reunion against them, because they were likely saving it for the last part.
And I’m pretty sure that it would’ve been Leia herself telling Rey about training to be a Jedi (“hey, how did you learn to setup this perfect Jedi training course for me to practice on everyday?”). Plans change, but I’m just grateful that through it all, Hamill, has been a perfect gentlemen and just happy to entertain fans as Luke once more.
I think their misstep was trying to have it all. If they wanted to bring the old gang back, it should have revolved around them. If they wanted a totally new story with new characters, then great do that. But they awkwardly tried and failed to please everyone all at once.
I’m not a Star Wars fan but Hamill has always seemed to be one of the really decent human begins out in the celebesphere, terrific with dealing with fans, both pro and con, and willing to make his sincere opinions known. Good on him.
He doesn’t owe anyone anything, but I get the sense that Hamill is someone hugely grateful for the fame, recognition and money he’s made. He doesn’t seem to want or need to ever be an A-list star, and I think that’s helped him a lot. He clearly loves doing voices, so the fact that Star Wars gives him a foot in the door to do something he’s passionate about has made him pretty happy on the whole.
Very true. For those who wondered what he was doing between Return Of The Jedi and The Force Awakens just check out his Imdb entry and see the huge amount of voice work he was doing, and some truly great stuff too. He’s credited, at the moment, with 341 roles, and about 250 of those are going to be voice credits.
Yeah, and he’s been incredibly open about how much he loves voice acting. He even spoke about how even tiny roles in voice acting get him excited with what he can do. I have no doubt that his work in Star Wars kickstarted his voice work, but his sheer talent kept him there.
At the risk of using a much thrown-around word, his Joker voice is iconic. It’s such a perfect blend of low menace, manic energy, barely controlled rage, and slyness. It really captures the madness of someone who could be laughing at a stupid pun one moment, and then spraying acid in your face the next.
I’m always stunned at how humble he is. He literally is a defining Joker, yet he expresses admiration constantly for other performers. Him calling the role the Hamlet of villains is such a great line. Because it will be endlessly reinterpreted.
To this day, when I picture the definitive Batman/Joker, it’s BTAS’ Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammill.
In the video I linked, Hamill says he instantly agrees to play Joker if Conroy is voicing him. Even to the point that he doesn’t need to see a script before agreeing.
I’ll admit it – he’s prettymuch the main reason I checked out the English dub to Castle in the Sky.
I mean, Ghibli dubs in general are good work, but Hamill was where I went from “This looks promising” to “Oh, Hell yes!”
(…if I’m being fair though, Cloris Leachman’s also bringing her A-game on that one. I feel like the script is kind of overly talky at points filling in scenes that didn’t need it, but there’s still some solid performances in it with Hamill and Leachman alone being worth giving a listen if you haven’t.)
He’s just by all accounts a decent person. Married the love of his life and still together, loves his kids. Legitimately one of the most famous people for 40 years now, and no one ever has bad things to say about him. Underappreciated actor as well.
It is nice. But it’s just a posting of the letter that comes with the Skywalker Saga box set that came out earlier this week. My problem with all this ‘end of an era’ talk Disney has been pushing since Rise of Skywalker came out is that the saga ended 15 years ago when Revenge of the Sith came out. Or 37 years with Return of the Jedi depending on how you look at it. The story was over. Until they decided it wasn’t. ‘Oh, actually Palpatine wasn’t really dead this whole time.’ So we’re now supposed to believe he’s reallytrulythistimewemeanit dead, but there’s nothing to stop them from trotting him back out in ten years for episode 10-12. ‘Guess who’s back?’ And then we can have another round of nostalgic ‘end of an era’ memorializing.
Its over when Ian is gone. Maybe not even that.
Certainly possible. But I will note that even before Jedi came out (maybe before Empire, I don’t remember) people “knew” that the story was meant to be nine films long.
This being Twitter, the first replies to Hamill’s incredibly compassionate letter are, of course, people complaining
Are the first replies at the top? Because they’re pretty much all nice replies, some with beautiful cast photos I haven’t seen.
He was really good in Corvette Summer.
“P.S. If in the future you have Star Wars issues you want to discuss, you know who you can talk to. Someone else. My nice can only stretch so far, and I am done with being polite to you people.”
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You know, if I were Hamill, I’d just bust the Joker laugh out in the middle of perfectly normal conversations every now and then to freak people out. (For best results, use on people who don’t know you voiced the Joker.)
THAT’S GREAT MARK, BUT WHEN ARE WE GETTING THAT CORVETTE SUMMER SEQUEL?
Is…Is he dying?
What has been lost with those aforementioned nasty comments is that this man did everything possible to get in acting form and entertain fans as Luke Skywalker once more. Like asking Laurence Fishburne to dress up as Cowboy Curtis, it’s so unlikely that i think it’s amazing that we got to watch it.
I love knowing that the best fans are likely the ones in that film, and we don’t appreciate it enough (well, except me, I was going crazy over the horse riding scene).