Mark Hamill has given enthusiastic support to Lucasfilm’s new leader. In an interview with USA Today, actor Luke Skywalker said he “couldn’t think of a better person” to star in Star Wars than Dave Filoni, currently co-president and chief creative officer of Lucasfilm. Filoni is running the Star Wars studio with Lynwen Brennan after Kathleen Kennedy announced her departure in January.
Hamill said Filoni has a “good understanding” of the Star Wars series, having worked directly with George Lucas on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The actor would later work with Filoni when Luke Skywalker was revived through de-aging VFX and appeared in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. The actor called these projects “amazing.”
“George was Dave’s mentor, so he knows George’s sensibilities,” Hamill added.
Kennedy was president of Lucasfilm for 14 years, joining the company in the summer of 2012, just before Disney acquired the studio for $4.05 billion. Under the Kennedy administration, “Star Wars” was reinvigorated with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” However, the series stumbled after polarizing fan reactions to sequel films The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Hamill himself was a critic of The Last Jedi, taking issue with how Luke Skywalker became a miserable, stubborn recluse who lived in forced exile himself after his apprentice Ben Solo joined the Dark Side and became Kylo Ren.
After The Last Jedi was released in theaters, Hamill told Comic Book that he “still hasn’t come to terms” with what happened to Luke, and opposed such a dark heel turn for the character. However, on last summer’s podcast “Bullseye with Jesse Thawne,” Hamill stressed that director Rian Johnson made “a great movie,” adding, “I’d love to get to the bottom of this. … Rian Johnson is one of the most talented directors I’ve ever worked with.”
“The fact that I went public with my dissatisfaction with Luke’s motives for becoming a suicidal hermit may have colored things in a way. Maybe I should have kept that to myself,” Hamill admitted. “But I kept saying to Ryan, ‘This is just going to double down on Luke…’ and he said, ‘Well, your class at the Jedi Academy was wiped out.’ I said, ‘Ryan, I saw an entire planet wiped out!’ Instead, Luke pulls together and becomes determined in the face of adversity. ”So, that’s it. ”
Hamill believed that Luke would become even more of a hero and voice for the Jedi in the wake of Ben Solo’s betrayal. “That being said, I told[Ryan]this, despite the fact that I don’t agree with your choices for Luke, I’m going to do everything in my power to make your script the best it can be. And the only thing that’s disappointing is that I’ve heard comments from fans who think I somehow hate Rian Johnson. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Hamill has been well-liked by his new bosses at Lucasfilm, but don’t expect him to return as Luke Skywalker. He told Comic Book last year that he had no plans to return as the iconic “Star Wars” hero.
“I had time,” Hamill said. “That’s great, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.”
