Star Wars actor Mark Hamill — most famous for his portrayal of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker over the course of four decades — is also known for his active social media presence.
Last night, Hamill took to Twitter to respond to Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode director, Peyton Reed. Reed had previously posted a “Thank You” note to Hamill for his incredible cameo appearance in the episode, “Chapter 16: The Rescue.”
Hamill also made a cameo, of sorts, in The Mandalorian Season 1 as the voice of droid bartender EV-9D9.
Dear @MrPeytonReed, I am so grateful to have been given the unexpected opportunity to revisit my character when he was still a symbol of hope & optimism. Your assured direction & kindness was a crucial element in the experience & means more to me than I can say. #ThankYOU
As kind and heartfelt as this Tweet is, some fans are now noting that it seems as though Hamill was actually endorsing retconning the Star Wars sequel trilogy — Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — when he noted that he enjoyed playing Luke when he was “still a symbol of hope and optimism.”
We desperately need a redo of Luke Skywalker’s fate. The sequel trilogy should be permanently deleted. At the very least give us a spinoff with him in this timeline. We want more Luke Skywalker!
Credit: Mark Hamill Twitter (@HamillHimself)
Another reader, Michael, shared these thoughts:
Only took 40 years to actually see Luke Skywalker the way he should have always been after return of the Jedi as a powerful Jedi Master.
Finally, David M. specifically mentioned the general fan opinion of Johnson’s Star Wars movie:
This is a clear indictment on Rian Johnson and Hamill’s whole TLJ experience, he was glad to return to the charater [sic: character] when “Luke was still a symbol for hope and optimism” something that was clearly taken away and clearly bothered Hamill, as it bothers many of us and always will.
This insinuates — rather strongly — that the iconic Jedi was only a symbol of positivity during his younger years, not during the sequels. If Hamill is, in fact, endorsing that Disney and Lucasfilm should erase the sequel trilogy, he isn’t alone.
The films have long divided the Star Wars fandom and backlash for Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, in particular, even led Rose Tico actress Kelly Marie Tran to enter therapy.
The actor — who previously stated he thought he was done playing Luke Skywalker — truly enjoyed his experience working with The Mandalorian cast and crew and fans have had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the cameo appearance.
Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau and executive producer Dave Filoni have not officially spoken out about whether or not they have plans for Luke Skywalker — or his Star Wars Legends wife, Mara Jade — to play a further role in The Mandalorian saga, but since Grogu left with Skywalker and beloved droid R2-D2, it seems likely we haven’t seen the last of the iconic Jedi.
What do you think? Should Lucasfilm retcon the Star Wars sequel films and allow Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker fate to be rewritten?
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Credit: Lucasfilm
Another reader, Michael, shared these thoughts: