Mark Hamill says he wishes Disney would have been “more accepting of [George Lucas’] guidance and advice” for the new Star Wars trilogy. Almost two years after the release of the seventh episode in the Skywalker saga, The Last Jedi will finally debut for audiences across the globe Thursday night, and signals the return of Hamill to a full-fledged role as Luke Skywalker following his brief yet pivotal appearance in the last minute of The Force Awakens.


Of course, the last time Hamill appeared as a lead in a Star Wars film came in 1983’s Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, closing out the original classic trilogy that began with Episode IV: A New Hope in 1977 and continued with Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. When Lucas picked up the Star Wars mantle again in the late 1990s, he chose to examine the origins of Luke’s father, Anakin, who eventually fell to the dark side of the force and became Darth Vader. This meant that original stars Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher were absent from the proceedings.


Now, with the opening of The Last Jedi only days away, Hamill seems to be lamenting the lack of involvement of Lucas in the new trilogy, which was the direct result of Disney’s $4.06 billion purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012. In a new interview with Metro Hamill says he wishes the studio would have given consideration to Lucas’ ideas for the new Star Wars films. He says:

“What I wish is that they had been more accepting of his guidance and advice. Because he had an outline for ‘7,’ ‘8,’ and ‘9’. And it is vastly different to what they have done.”


That’s not to say Hamill is unhappy with the direction of the films made under the direction of J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, in fact, he’s been nothing but enthusiastic in his support for the films since he stepped back into the Star Wars universe. Most importantly, he clearly realizes that the new films in the franchise have had a massive impact on fans. Hamill says:

“I don’t want to be an old stick in the mud. There were the originals. There’s the prequels. But that’s all George. And now we have the next generation. And as far as I can see they are more popular than ever.”

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Hamill has an allegiance to Lucas, because after all, he’s the creator of the franchise that took Hamill from being a virtual unknown before Star Wars and turned him into an international superstar. Luckily for the duo, their friendship has endured, and their affinity for one another was apparent when Lucas and Hamill reunited for the Star Wars Celebration 40th Anniversary panel in April.


The truth is though that every Star Wars film to date – including the first spinoff film Rogue One – has a distinct feel that is connected not only in character, but also in tone and motivation. Lucas may not have had a direct creative hand in any of the Star Wars films since he sold Lucasfilm to Disney, but there’s no doubt that his overall spirit and vision is very much alive in every single one of them.