Mark Hamill has played Luke Skywalker in seven live-action Star Wars projects, some better than others. Since 1977, Hamill has been one of the faces of the Star Wars franchise. Each Star Wars trilogy includes the character of Luke Skywalker in some capacity, with Hamill portraying the character in five feature films. Hamill has also played Luke Skywalker on the small screen, something that has been theorized to continue in upcoming Star Wars TV shows.
With such a wide-reaching resume within a galaxy far, far away, Hamill’s appearances as Skywalker naturally encompass the best and worst of Star Wars movies, storylines, and character depictions. When concerning how Hamill’s Luke Skywalker appearances rank against one another, however, it is worth noting that this list does not reflect the quality of the individual films or shows. Hamill’s character and performances have changed significantly from project to project and are ranked against one another individually, regardless of how strong or weak the project itself is.
Unfortunately, Hamill’s role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker should have been more impactful than it was given it is the final film in the Skywalker Saga. Hamill’s appearance in the film comes midway through the story as Rey flees to Ahch-To upon finding out that Palpatine is her grandfather. Luke appears to give Rey a pre-third act pep-talk, convincing her to forsake her bloodline and fight back against Palpatine in the name of the Jedi.
The scene undoubtedly works as a satisfying story point, as it makes sense for Luke – after the lessons he learned in Star Wars: The Last Jedi – to push Rey away from Ahch-To. Similarly, seeing Luke finally lift an X-Wing out of the water after he failed to in The Empire Strikes Back is a wonderful callback. However, the scene is only brief, and Luke’s only other appearance comes in the final shot of the film. For this lack of depth and nothing else, Hamill’s appearance in The Rise of Skywalker ranks lowest among his seven in live-action Star Wars.
While still a fantastic cameo, Mark Hamill’s appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 is the second-weakest of the actor’s seven live-action roles. Concerning positives, the scene makes for one of the most exciting, pure fan-service moments in the show’s entire run. The slow build-up of seeing a lone X-Wing appear to save Din Djarin and his crew, the cloaked figure, the green lightsaber, and then the final reveal of a de-aged Mark Hamill is a masterclass in tension building. Combined with Ludwig Goransson’s fantastic musical score and brilliant action, the scene works unequivocally for pure visceral thrills.
However, Hamill’s appearance ranks low on this list because of the lack of the scene’s emotional weight, at least in comparison to the other entries. While it still works within the context of the story, Skywalker’s appearance applies more to fan service than satisfying storytelling. Also, the de-aging effect is notably distracting, making it difficult to connect emotionally with Luke. Finally, Hamill’s appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 was retroactively harmed by Grogu returning to Din in The Book of Boba Fett. As a result, any remaining feeling of emotional weight the scene did have has since been stripped away.
Going hand-in-hand with Hamill’s appearance in The Mandalorian is his role in The Book of Boba Fett episodes 5 and 6. As alluded to, this appearance cannot rank any higher due to the unfortunate adverse effect it had on The Mandalorian season 2. Luke and Grogu’s story being crammed into The Book of Boba Fett made the stories of both The Mandalorian season 2 and The Mandalorian season 3 suffer as it deserved to be part of the latter show as opposed to the former, meaning it cannot rank higher than the projects above it.
That said, Hamill’s role in The Book of Boba Fett stands above The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker due to his extended appearance, stronger emotional throughline, and satisfying fan-service elements that ties Star Wars’ New Republic timeline to that of the sequel trilogy. The longer role of Hamill in the show allows Luke to have more of a storyline than he did in The Mandalorian. Exploring vital Star Wars footnotes such as the New Republic Jedi Order, Luke’s Jedi Temple, and his mistakes that ultimately led to the rise of Kylo Ren means the role has much more depth.
Another improvement over the appearance in The Mandalorian is The Book of Boba Fett‘s remarkable CGI upgrade. While it is somewhat distracting that Luke is rarely on-screen when speaking, the overall effect is much more impressive and, thus, much less jarring from an emotional standpoint. Combined with the overwhelmingly satisfying scene that saw Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker meet Ahsoka Tano, and The Book of Boba Fett‘s Hamill appearance ranks above The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker as his fifth-best in the Star Wars franchise.
From this point onwards, all of Mark Hamill’s Star Wars appearances have been great to fantastic to near-flawless. The first of these is the role that started it all: Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker appearance in 1977’s Star Wars. As does not need explaining, Hamill served as a brilliant, fresh-faced protagonist in Lucas’ first Star Wars movie. Luke’s humble background, the hints at his larger destiny, and Hamill’s endearing performance make Luke easy to invest in, as does his emotional story of an orphaned farm boy taking on a tyrannical Empire.
One of the primary reasons why Hamill’s performance works so well is the way he imbues Luke with a sense of righteousness. Luke always strives to do the right thing, whether it be staying on the farm to help Owen and Beru, rescuing Leia, or fighting in the death-defying Battle of Yavin. While Luke’s somewhat whiny tendencies and unexplained power – at least at the time concerning Star Wars’ release order – mean Hamill’s role in A New Hope cannot rank any higher, the film is a fantastic introductory showcase for one of the franchise’s greatest characters.
The release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017 saw it become the most controversial film in the franchise to date. Arguably the biggest point of debate in the film was Luke Skywalker’s arc, meaning it may be surprising to see this aspect ranked as the third-best of the character’s franchise stories. Undoubtedly the biggest strength of Luke’s Last Jedi story is Hamill’s acting. Putting in one of the best acting performances in the entire franchise, Hamill nails the complex story of Luke’s failure, depression, and redemption in one of the most raw, purely emotional turns in Star Wars.
Another thing that helps Luke’s story in Episode VIII stand above the others below it is the complex nature of his character. More so than any other film in the saga, The Last Jedi depicts Luke as a human being with flaws, doubts, fears, and failures. This culminates in one of the best Star Wars scenes ever crafted when Yoda tells Luke that failure is the most important thing to pass on to the next generation. If one thing ranks this performance down, it is The Last Jedi‘s neglect of showing Luke’s deeper feelings about Han Solo’s death.
When regarding iconicity, there is no denying that The Empire Strikes Back is one of Hamill’s best stories in Star Wars. The film opens three years after A New Hope, immediately rectifying the slight mistake of its predecessor by giving Luke time to train. Rather than be a relatively lucky, overpowered farm boy, Luke is a confident, battle-tested hero of the Rebellion at the beginning of Empire. Luke’s ease in destroying the Death Star is one of A New Hope‘s biggest issues, meaning this time jump is enough of a reason to rank Luke’s Episode V story above Episode IV‘s.
Luke’s story then takes this even further when he begins training with Yoda. Through Hamill’s performance and Luke’s journey, Star Wars audiences were introduced to key concepts like the Force, the Jedi, the dark side, and several other now-iconic elements of the franchise. All of this culminates in one of the biggest scenes in not just the Star Wars franchise, but cinematic history.
The final confrontation between Vader and Luke is driven by emotion, primarily from Hamill’s performance. The reveal that Vader is Luke’s father is iconic for a reason, with Hamill’s performance aiding it in becoming a world-famous scene and one of Star Wars‘ best. Admittedly, there is little to pull Luke’s story in The Empire Strikes Back down, aside from the forced love triangle between him, Leia, and Han that has since been made much weirder due to George Lucas’ tweaking of Star Wars’ Skywalker family tree.
While Return of the Jedi is not as strong overall as A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back, it undoubtedly features the best Luke Skywalker story in the entire saga. The appearance of Luke as a calculated and calm Jedi Master after his development in the prior two movies is a perfect culmination of his arc. Combined with a green lightsaber, fantastic action sequences, and his continued dedication to fighting the evil Empire, the basics of Luke’s story in Return of the Jedi are as good, if not better, than the first two original trilogy movies.
What helps set Hamill’s story apart in Return of the Jedi is the connection Luke has with Vader and the development of the Skywalker family. The struggle between light and dark that permeates Luke’s confrontation with Vader and Palpatine makes Return of the Jedi‘s final act one of the best in the saga, a feat that would not be possible without Luke. With the addition of his amazing scene with Leia, Luke’s family troubles only improve after The Empire Strikes Back.
This all allows Return of the Jedi to satisfyingly end the original trilogy. Hamill’s performance sells the emotion, turmoil, and pull of the dark side as he battles Vader, before transitioning into a heartbroken son when Anakin removes his helmet. This contrasts with the upbeat ending of Return of the Jedi‘s story to allow Hamill’s performance to shine. With all of this ending the original trilogy on a high note, despite the film’s overall drawbacks in the second act, Return of the Jedi is convincingly Hamill’s best performance of his seven in live-action Star Wars.