Star Wars legend Mark Hamill believes the heart was ripped out of the popular sci-fi franchise with Carrie Fisher‘s death seven years ago.
Can reveal Hamill, the 72-year-old actor most famous for playing fan-favorite Luke Skywalker, spoke about both Star Wars and Fisher’s passing during a recent appearance at Fan Expo Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois.
He said: “My wife came into the bedroom – she gets up earlier than I do – I was still asleep. She had tears streaming down her face saying Carrie didn’t make it.
“It forever altered how I reacted to Star Wars in general. The heart was gone. It was just…I don’t talk about it because I don’t like reliving it.”
Fisher, who played Hamill’s Star Wars sister Princess Leia throughout the multi-billion-dollar franchise, passed away in December 2016 at the age of 60 from a heart attack. Medical examiners later found cocaine, ecstasy and heroin were in Fisher’s system at the time of her death.
But while Hamill acknowledged his belief Star Wars was diminished by Fisher’s sudden passing, he also paid tribute to his late co-star and the “effortless feminism” she brought to the six Star Wars films she starred in.
He said: “I thought that it was effortless feminism to have the Princess be far from a shrinking violet.
“She was tough, she was telling Darth Vader off to his face – she was not intimidated by Darth Vader in the slightest.
“I thought, that’s effortless feminism, because it’s not apologetic. It’s just showing a woman is as capable as any man.”
Hamill’s remarks about Fisher at Fan Expo Chicago this month came after he opened up about the pair’s turbulent, albeit “special”, relationship during another interview last year.
The Corvette Summer actor told Esquire in May 2023: “We could be as loving and supportive as possible, then we could have big arguments and say, well I never want to speak to you again, and not speak for six months.
“But every time you came back, you picked up right where you left off. We had a connection that is special.”
As reported, Fisher died of a sudden cardiac arrest on December 27, 2023, aged 60, four days after suffering a medical emergency during a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles.
Medical examiners later found a cocktail of drugs in Fisher’s system at the time of her death, and she was vocal about her battles with bipolar disorder and drug addiction in the years leading up to her passing.
In 2009, seven years before her death, the beloved Star Wars actress discussed her problems with mental illness and addiction. While she admitted she couldn’t “overcome” her problems, she also acknowledged she could “get through” and “use” them.
She said at the time: “I’m proud of myself that I’ve been able to get through this stuff, and I’ve been able to – I can’t overcome it, but I can use it. I have problems, problems don’t have me.”
While Hamill said he had “no words” in the immediate aftermath of Fisher’s December 2016 death, he later paid tribute to his fallen co-star two years later on the second anniversary of her passing.
He tweeted: “It makes me so happy to know how overwhelmed and touched she would be by the worldwide outpouring of love and affection for her today.”
Hamill also honored Fisher in July 2018 as he prepared to once again return to Star Wars for the ninth film in the franchise, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Fisher also appeared in the film posthumously via unused footage from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The actor tweeted: “It’s bittersweet facing my final chapter without her – she is simply irreplaceable.
“I’m finding solace in the fact that she won’t BE replaced and would love the worldwide outpouring of affection from those who loved her when they heard the news.”
