Mark Hamill was on the Today Show to promote his new movie, The Life of Chuck. Hamill was asked about 50 years since the premiere of Star Wars: A New Hope, and whether he's one of those people who drops whatever he's doing to watch the Star Wars saga whenever it's on TV.
His answer might surprise you! Mark Hamill says, "I haven't seen it since it came out. My sons watch it, especially Nathan, who is a huge aficionado. I saw it when it came out, and I just don't revisit it. I'm not one of those people who goes, 'Hey, let's watch one of my movies.'" Hamill's revelation that he doesn't revisit his Star Wars movies came as a shock to fans, and some might have misinterpreted it.
Mark Hamill reveals he hasn’t seen the original STAR WARS since it was released in 1977.
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) June 6, 2025
“I haven’t seen it since it came out.. I saw it when it came out and I just don't revisit it."
(Source: https://t.co/OnIGTHR5hC) pic.twitter.com/0zTtAz1zbX
The truth is, like many actors, Hamill isn't fond of watching his work. His kids love it and make sure their father's work as Luke Skywalker is always honored. Elaborating further, Hamill says he'll never forget his reaction when he first read the script because it didn't feel like science fiction. To Hamill, Star Wars read like a fairytale where, "there's a princess, there's a wizard, there's a space pirate."
In his eyes, Luke Skywalker was a gender swapped Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, as "they both get swept away on these grand adventures." Hamill also revealed that whenever he wanted George Lucas to go in depth regarding Luke's struggle to resist the dark side, Lucas reminded him that these movies were just for kids, which is why he resisted killing off too many main characters. He says, "In the new ones, they pop us off one at a time."
Hamill is fond of his time in Star Wars, and his memories of that time are fresh. However, he has struggled with being famous as Luke Skywalker. Recently, he shared a story about his time on Broadway, as he tried to keep his Star Wars fame low-key and didn't mention Star Wars on his resume. Carrie Fisher urged him to get over it and "embrace it."
Even if Mark doesn't watch Star Wars as much as fans do, he carries his experience as Luke Skywalker wherever he goes. Although he insists he's done with Star Wars, it wasn't too long ago when Hamill returned as Luke Skywalker on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
You can watch Mark Hamill in The Life of Chuck, which releases in theaters on June 13, 2025.
Star Wars: A New Hope is streaming on Disney+.