Mark Hamill Admits To Being Intimidated By His Star Wars Return

By this stage in the game, Mark Hamill is practically synonymous with the Star Wars franchise.

Despite a lengthy absence from Lucasfilm’s prized series, during which time George Lucas and Co. launched the widely derided prequel saga, Hamill appeared briefly in The Force Awakens two years ago, when it was revealed that his Jedi Master had been hiding on the remote backwater planet of Ahch-To.

Fast forward to 2017, and with The Last Jedi looming on the horizon, the series mainstay spoke at length with StarWars.com about slipping back into the Skywalker robes, the wonderfully extravagant Canto Bight, and the sheer scope and scale of Rian Johnson’s long-anticipated sequel. And though one might assume that Mark Hamill was beside himself with excitement leading up to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the veteran actor admitted to feeling intimidated and indeed terrified by his Star Wars return.

Everyone says, ‘Oh, it must be so fun coming back to Star Wars.’ Yeah, it’s fun but it’s also hugely intimidating and bordering on terrifying, because it’s just almost too high profile for comfort.

Perhaps more so than any other 2017 blockbuster before it, The Last Jedi is a hulking beast of a movie with many moving parts, and Hamill believes Rian Johnson deserves praise for his calm, collected approach. Something that can’t be said about erstwhile Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow, if you buy into those damning allegations.

Per StarWars.com:

On something like The Last Jedi, it’s such a massive production. The complexity of it is just mind-boggling to me, and how Rian Johnson stays so even-tempered and amiable. I never saw him lose his temper, I never heard him curse or humiliate someone. You know, I’ve had directors that dress people down in front of the whole crew. I was so lucky to be able to have his guidance.

With Luke and Daisy Ridley’s Rey at its core – the master and the apprentice – Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be with us on December 15th. It’ll be followed by the so-far untitled Episode IX in 2019, which has since placed J.J. Abrams in the driving seat ahead of its arrival in December of 2019.