The actor praises the Disney+ original for keeping in theme with George Lucas' original vision.
Even though Mark Hamill’s Star Wars days are behind him, that doesn’t mean he’ll turn his back on the long-running and expanding franchise created by George Lucas. “There are so many stories they can tell, so many talented actors and writers and directors, and now I can just be a fan. I’ll always be partial to any Star Wars project,” he tells ET’s Ash Crossan while discussing the news that filmmaker Taika Waititi, who is an executive producer of the comedy series What We Do in the Shadows, is set to helm a standalone Star Wars film.
Despite making his debut as an ancient vampire on season 2 of the FX program, the director wasn’t on set while the actor filmed his episode. However, that didn’t stop Hamill from being excited about the two franchises briefly colliding. “I would love to work with him,” he adds.
While a massive fan of both Jemaine Clement and Waititi’s film and series, Hamill has his kids to thank for introducing him to What We Do in the Shadows as well as the Disney+ original series The Mandalorian.
“My son said you have to watch The Mandalorian and I think it’s great how they were able to keep it so minimalist with the characters and the story and [still] keep it mainstream,” the actor says, noting it doesn’t rely heavily on special effects. “I thought it was more in theme with what George wanted originally.”
He adds that the series created by Jon Favreau and executive produced by Dave Filoni “was superb. It was so well done.”
With the series slated to return for a second season sometime in 2020, news and rumors about the upcoming episodes -- including directors and guest stars -- have slowly been trickling out. The latest being that Boba Fett, the famed bounty hunter that inspired the spinoff, will reportedly appear onscreen with Temuera Morrison taking over the role.
Of course, the news has caused a little confusion since The Mandalorian takes place some time after The Return of the Jedi, which saw the character fall to his death inside the mouth of a sarlacc.
“I thought he was a decade into getting digested at this point,” Hamill quips after learning of the bounty hunter’s rumored return. “There’s so many ways they can go and John Favreau and Dave Filoni are both the right people for the job. They know it better than I do.”
The actor goes on to explain that he’s not a person who goes back and watches his films, which is why he doesn’t have many theories of his own. “Fans come up to me and ask these questions and I have no idea what they’re talking about,” Hamill says, pointing to his former co-star, Harrison Ford. “He’s just like, ‘I don’t care!’ He can get away with that. Everyone expects Harrison to be irreverent. I’m supposed to be more sincere.”
While he may not be able to indulge every fan's question or theory, Hamill at least still follows along and supports the franchise -- and that’s as much as anyone could hope for.
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