Mark Hamill speaks out about the possibility of returning to ‘Star Wars’

Despite fans wishing for his return as a Force Ghost in future “Star Wars” movies, Mark Hamill seems unlikely to reprise his role in the iconic franchise.

During an interview about his new movie, “The Life of Chuck,” Mark Hamill expressed gratitude for the opportunity provided by George Lucas but suggested that Lucasfilm should shift its focus towards developing fresh characters and narratives.

“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 said. “We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that. But my deal is, I had my time. I’m appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.”

He went on to joke about how Luke “disappeared” in “The Last Jedi,” adding, “I left my robes behind. And there’s no way I’m gonna appear as a naked force ghost.”

It’s no surprise to many fans that Hamill doesn’t want to return to a galaxy far, far away, since he seemed unhappy with his portrayal of Luke Skywalker in 2017’s “The Last Jedi.” When the movie begins, fans learn that the beloved character has been in hiding and has completely given up on saving the galaxy.

Hamill made it clear that he told director Rian Johnson that he did not agree with Luke’s fate and did not think it was something that Luke would ever do.

“I said to Rian, I said, ‘Jedi don’t give up.’ I mean, even if he had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong, so right there, we had a fundamental difference,” he said in an interview posted to YouTube in 2017.

“But, it’s not my story anymore,” he added. “It’s somebody else’s story, and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That’s the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I’m sorry.”

In order to help him complete filming, Hamill admitted that he thought of Luke Skywalker as a completely different character.  “I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s ‘Jake Skywalker,’ he’s not my Luke Skywalker,” he confessed. “But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well.”

In another interview clip, also posted to YouTube, Hamill continued to double down on the point that he didn’t recognize the character that he was asked to portray.

“Who is this guy? How did the most optimistic, hopeful character in the galaxy turn into this hermit who says, ‘It’s time for the Jedi to end’?” he asked. “I read that and I said, ‘What?’ That’s not what a Jedi does. I mean, a Jedi is optimistic, a Jedi has tenacity. He doesn’t secrete himself on an island.”

Although Hamill seemed to close the door on a return to the “Star Wars” franchise, fans in one Reddit community held out hope that he might change his mind and make a surprise appearance.

“Mark Hamill has done this before. When ‘Batman: Arkham City’ ended with the Joker dying, he said that was it for him ever playing the Joker again. So we got ‘Batman: Origins,’ which did have a different Joker voice actor, but then Mark Hamill returned as Joker in ‘Batman Arkham: Knight,’” one fan pointed out.

“He also said in the 90s that Luke Skywalker’s story was over and that he would never be returning to the character,” they continued, calling Disney, who acquired Lucasfilm over a decade ago, a “powerful entity.”