Still best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, Mark Hamill has spent almost a decade on Twitter posting jokes and interacting with the many followers he has on the site using the handle @HamillHimself. That however has all changed in the last week when the actor finally managed to get his hands on the handle he has wanted for many years: @MarkHamill. And just like that, the change has been made and Hamill is himself very pleased about it.He wrote, “After almost 10 years as @HamillHimself- Twitter has finally allowed my account to use my own name. Welcome to @MarkHamill & I hope there's no confusion or nostalgia for the loss of alliteration or any questions about why I don't also use my middle name: Richard.”
Mark Hamill has been a force of his own on social media for many years, mainly using the platform to answer fan questions about Star Wars as well as his other roles, and occasionally sharing behind the scenes details about his most recent roles. A few months ago he shared footage of him recording the voice for Skeletor in Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe Revelation, and of course he couldn’t not share a whole heap of information about his return as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian’s second season finale.
Mark Hamill Will Always Be A Big Piece of Star Wars History As His Recent Return Has Shown
Sometimes a role can be so iconic that it becomes a blessing and a curse, and Luke Skywalker is probably one of them. For years after the original Star Wars trilogy ended, Mark Hamill was known only as Luke Skywalker, but over the years he has crafted himself an impeccable voice acting career. Of his many voiceover roles, it is playing the Joker in numerous Batman animated stories and video games.
However, the world of Star Wars seems to be one that Hamill just cannot stay away from. Having returned to play Luke Skywalker again in the sequel trilogy, which seemed to bring the character’s story to a close for good, he then turned up again unexpectedly as a young Luke in The Mandalorian. While the cameo was kept very much secret until the final episode of the series premiered on Disney+, when 70-year-old Hamill made his surprise appearance the use of de-aging technology meant he looked almost exactly as he did back in Return of the Jedi.
Although the end result was received by some in the same way as that of Peter Cushing’s appearance as Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it was clear that the advancement of de-aging technology has come almost as far the ability to create a digital version of a character from old footage and a body double. Luke Skywalker has continued to appear in The Mandalorian, and LucasFilm has enlisted Shamook, who is known for being a Deepfake expert, to help refine the character for the new season, as he is now a digital creation and not played by a de-aged Hamill.