Mark Hamill reveals he wasn’t asked to voice Luke Skywalker for Disney+’s The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special. As one of the original stars of the first Star Wars trilogy, Hamill remains a major figure within the franchise, often offering his opinions on new projects. He reprised his Luke for Disney’s sequel films, which culminated with last year’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it now looks like he’ll remain a spectator for the property going forward.
While much of Hamill’s early Star Wars projects are well-regarded by fans, there’s one that has become notorious in its poor quality: The Star Wars Holiday Special. The 1978 program was broadcast on CBS and saw Hamill return alongside Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. In telling the story of the Wookie holiday Life Day, the Star Wars Holiday Special became a truly cringe-worthy piece of media that no one looks fondly upon. Disney+ sought to redeem holiday-themed works for Star Wars with its recent Lego special, which sees Rey travel back in time to various moments of Star Wars history on Life Day.
Luke does play a role in The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, but Hamill wasn’t the one voicing him. Instead, that honor went to Eric Bauza. Fans wondered why Hamill didn’t return for the special, and the actor took to social media to address it. Hamill gave two reasons for why he didn’t participate, though the second seems like the biggest culprit. “A) I didn’t want to risk tarnishing the legendary status of the original,” Hamill wrote. “AND: B) They didn’t ask me to.”
Though characters like Rey, Luke, and Han Solo were voiced by new actors, some familiar faces did return. Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), and Billy Dee Williams (Lando) all reprised their roles from the Star Wars movies, and characters who appeared in The Clone Wars returned with their proper voice actors, like James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan) and Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker). All told, The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special was a mix of old and new performers, which feels like an apt descriptor for Disney’s entire time with the Star Wars franchise.
It is a little surprising that Hamill wasn’t invited back to voice Luke, seeing as he’s remained active in the Star Wars franchise for years. In all fairness to Disney, perhaps they felt he wouldn’t want to now that he’s put away his lightsaber in the live-action realm. Besides, Hamill clearly didn’t want to take away from the “glory” of the first Star Wars Holiday Special. It’s a shame Hamill didn’t get involved, but The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special managed to get on perfectly fine without him.