Mark Hamill addresses rumors he ‘quit' the ‘Star Wars' franchise, reveals his future plans
Mark Hamill is finally setting the record straight regarding recent rumors he 'quit' the 'Star Wars' franchise.
The 73-year-old actor, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in six of the popular sci-fi films, opened up about his future in a galaxy far, far away during an episode of NBC News' 'Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist' set to air on June 15.
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8 Mark Hamill opened up about his 'Star Wars' future during an episode of 'Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist' set to air on June 15.
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8 Hamill clarified that he did not quit the 'Star Wars' franchise.
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'Well, let me say: they haven't asked me,' Hamill told Geist, clarifying that he did not quit the iconic franchise. 'It's not like they said, 'Please come back.''
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'I don't want to make a big PR pronouncement like 'This is my decision,'' he added. 'I'm just saying that it really felt like a conclusion. My character was given complete closure. I died, ironically by overdosing on the Force, I might point out.'
Hamill's character dies at the end of 2017's 'The Last Jedi.'
8 Hamill as Luke Skywalker in 1977's 'Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.'
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
8 Hamill in 2017's 'Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi.'
©Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett / Everett Collection
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But despite Skywalker's death, Hamill reprised the role once more in 2019's 'The Rise of Skywalker' as a Force spirit.
'The Rise of Skywalker' appeared to officially end the character arc that began when Hamill first portrayed Luke Skywalker in George Lucas' first film in the franchise 42 years earlier in 1977.
'Once the Skywalker trilogy was over, it was a whole new era for them,' Hamill explained to Geist. 'George gave them this amazing canvas, the entire galaxy. They can do Westerns, mysteries, comedies, whodunits, anything within that realm of 'Star Wars.''
8 Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca in 1980's 'Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.'
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
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8 Hamill as Luke Skywalker in 1983's 'Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.'
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
'And they're doing so well,' he continued. 'I just think it's time. I had my time. I'm really appreciative, but I'm really looking to the future for all these new projects.'
The rumors that Hamill quit the 'Star Wars' franchise first started swirling last month when the actor also told ComicBook.com that he 'had his time' with the sci-fi film series and that 'they should focus on the future.'
'I am so grateful to George for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called 'Star Wars' the most expensive low-budget movie ever made,' he told the site on May 31. 'We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that.'
8 Hamill explained that while he has not quit the 'Star Wars' franchise, he believes his character's arc has come to a natural conclusion.
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8 'I just think it's time. I had my time,' Hamill said. 'I'm really appreciative, but I'm really looking to the future for all these new projects.'
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'But my deal is, I had my time,' Hamill continued. 'I'm appreciative of that, but I really think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.'
Whether Hamill returns or not, Disney has several more 'Star Wars' projects planned for the future – including a standalone film starring Ryan Gosling titled 'Star Wars: Starfighter.'
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'This is the perfect place to start this journey for us, because it's such an incredible reminder of why we're going to make this movie and who we're going to make this movie for,' Gosling, 44, said when the movie was first announced in April.
'This is a standalone. It's not a prequel, not a sequel. It's a new adventure,' he added. 'It's set in a period of time that we haven't seen explored yet.'
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