Mark Hamill Jokes About the Real Reason for "Star Wars" in the First Place

Each subtitle for a Star Wars film can lend itself to some interpretation from the viewer, but when one fan questioned the mere concept of "Star Wars," Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill offered his take on the matter, noting that the war is the entire purpose for the action-adventure film in the first place. Hamill did, however, add that it had been a while since he had seen the movie, so he was merely recalling what he believed was the impetus for the conflict between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. As the prequels explained to us years later, there were many more complicated factors behind the conflict.

"It's been a while since I've seen it, but I always thought the war was just an excuse to provide a much needed conflict for an action-adventure movie," Hamill shared on Twitter. "That, and to blow a bunch of stuff up, of course."

As we would come to learn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the whole thing started when the Confederacy of Independent Systems wanted to defect from the Republic, leading to the Clone Wars and the eventual Galactic Civil War. By the time the sequel trilogy came around, it would seem that The First Order sought to finish what the Empire started, though fans were largely denied a detailed explanation of why they had these goals, other than to obtain power by any means necessary.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but I always thought the war was just an excuse to provide a much needed conflict for an action-adventure movie. That, and to blow a bunch of stuff up, of course.

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) February 1, 2020

Hamill himself might not be an expert on the franchise, as he has previously admitted he hasn't watched the original trilogy in more than 20 years.

When replying to a fan last August about how often he watches the films, he revealed, "I haven't seen it since the Special Edition was released in theaters in 1997 & only because my kids had only watched the home video, had never seen it on the big screen & insisted I take them."

The release of the Special Edition films also resulted in a scream being added into a pivotal Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back scene, which the actor previously bemoaned. Rather than falling silently into a shaft on Cloud City, Hamill's Luke let out a cry of seeming fear.

"That's really going in and interfering with the performance," Hamill shared with Entertainment Weekly in 2018. "And I guess he got enough negative feedback that he took it out. But it makes no sense. [Director] Irvin Kershner and I discussed it. That was the director, and he says, 'You have that choice. He's holding out his hand. He's going to rescue you, but you make that choice. He's stressed and then all of a sudden he becomes very calm and closes his eyes and just lets go."

Stay tuned for updates on the Star Wars franchise.

What do you think of Hamill's response? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!