After wrapping up the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it really seemed like Mark Hamill‘s time in the Star Wars universe would come to an end with 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Heck, he even said as much. But there’s probably no other Star Wars actor that’s more keyed into the fans than Hamill, which means he knows that secrecy is of the utmost importance. As fans slowly learned, Hamill did not walk away from the franchise after The Rise of Skywalker, but instead, he became a very willing participant in the filming of The Mandalorian where the actor quietly voiced small roles that weren’t revealed until after the fact.
However, all of that changed in the Season 2 finale when The Mandalorian pulled off the stunning feat of bringing Luke Skywalker into the story. But not just any Luke Skywalker: the show went to exceptional lengths to bring a Return of the Jedi-era Luke to life with Hamill’s help. The out-of-this-world technical process that went into making the cameo was recently showcased on the latest episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian where Hamill revealed that the executive producer showed him reaction videos of fans watching Luke’s big return. It blew the actor away. Via The Hollywood Reporter:
“Jon [Favreau] sent me links to reaction videos, which were just — I don’t get to see these things in the audience,” Hamil said on the Disney Gallery episode. “To see grown men cry and people screaming their heads off. It was really, really thrilling for me to see them enjoying it so much.”
There you have it, folks. Your tears are Jedi Knight Mark Hamill’s food. It’s gotta be every Star Wars fans’ dream to know that their salty emotions power one of the galaxy’s most epic heroes. You can only hope that’s the case, but to hear it from Hamill himself Perfection.