'I had my time': Mark Hamill rules out Star Wars return as Luke Skywalker

Mark Hamill doesn't intend to return to 'Star Wars'.

The 73-year-old star first played the role of Luke Skywalker in the original movie 'A New Hope' back in 1977 but has no wish to return as the protagonist as he would prefer franchise bosses to focus on the "future" with different characters at the heart of the stories.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Mark said: "I am so grateful to George (Lucas) for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called 'Star Wars' the most expensive low-budget movie ever made.

"We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that. But my deal is, I had my time. I'm appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters."

Mark's last significant appearance was as a force ghost in the 2019 sequel trilogy flick 'The Rise of Skywalker' and he joked that it was impossible for him to return after the ghostly truth about his alter ego was revealed in the 2017 picture 'The Last Jedi'.

He said: "(I) disappeared in ('The Last Jedi'), I left my robes behind. And there's no way I'm gonna appear as a naked force ghost."

Hamill confessed last year that he felt the "heart was gone" from 'Star Wars' following the tragic passing of his co-star Carrie Fisher, who portrayed Princess Leia, at the age of 60 from a sudden a cardiac arrest in 2016.

Recalling the moment he learnt of Carrie's death, he said: "My wife (Marilou York) came into the bedroom - she gets up earlier than I do - I was still asleep. She had tears rolling down her face saying that Carrie had …

"It forever altered how I reacted to ‘Star Wars’ in general. The heart was gone. I don’t talk about it because I don’t like reliving it."

Mark also paid tribute to Carrie for bringing an "effortless feminism" to the sci-fi franchise by standing strong against the villainous Darth Vader and taking command of both Luke and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).

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 I recognised your foul stench’ … I mean, wow! Pretty mouthy, huh?

"And when we rescued her, she made chumps out of Luke and Han: ‘You call this a rescue? Gimme that gun!’

"And she made us look like two stooges. I thought, ‘That’s effortless feminism’, because it’s not apologetic, it’s just showing a woman is as [capable] as any man."