Hamill has appeared in five other Star Wars films after A New Hope, those being The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Other live-action appearances from Hamill shockingly came in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which the actor returned as Luke Skywalker with the aid of de-aging technology. With Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Mandalorian specifically, Star Wars has given Hamill and his character two great endings, yet they were unfortunately undermined by future appearances.
The Last Jedi Was A Perfect Ending For Luke Skywalker (Hurt By The Rise Of Skywalker)
Undoubtedly the most perfect ending for Hamill and Luke out of the two was Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The Last Jedi offers up the most compelling character arc Luke Skywalker has ever had in Star Wars, turning him from a legendary Jedi into a broken human who learns to accept the legend is necessary in order to inspire hope. The character arc is certainly controversial but serves as the most personal, in-depth, emotional exploration of the character that has ever been included in Star Wars, complete with Hamill’s fantastic, career-best performance. As a result, Luke Skywalker's ending in that film is even more satisfying.Luke's ending in The Last Jedi sees him accomplishing the single-most "Jedi" act in all of Star Wars, using his knowledge of the Force for defense, allowing the Resistance to escape the First Order. This not only adheres to Yoda's original teachings from The Empire Strikes Back, but is one of the most powerful Force moves ever exhibited in live-action canon Star Wars. This ability contributes to Luke becoming one with the Force, as he views a mirage of twin suns on Ahch-To just as his journey began and fades away as Obi-Wan did in Star Wars.
