This weekend is a major one for Star Wars fans. Because Thursday evening saw the opening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first standalone movie from the galaxy far, far away. This was a major experiment for The House of Mouse, as it was the first time that a movie other than the main Skywalker story was presented for the silver screen. Fans of the franchise weren't sure exactly what to expect from the standalone film, although the critical reception thus far has been very favorable. But what do the original stars think of the movie that was set right before the original trilogy?
Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, recently saw a screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Luckily for us, he took to Twitter to share this thoughts, which were overwhelmingly positive. He said,
That's right, Luke Skywalker is officially a fan of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. As you can see from his above tweet, Hamill believes that Rogue One is an absolute thrill ride from beginning to end. Furthermore, Hamill makes it a point to clarify that Rogue One is a good movie by any standards, not just in relation to other Star Wars movies.
Mark Hamill also praised the work of Rogue One's groundbreaking cast. Rogue One was a turning point for the Star Wars franchise, and featured the most diverse cast of actors in the franchise history. The call for inclusion and diversity in Hollywood has been an important conversation over the past few years, and the standalone film's cast, as well as the trio of new characters from The Force Awakens, represents a Star Wars universe that is not just made up of white men.
Mark Hamill was so thrilled with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that he took to Twitter about an hour after his first tweet to further explain why he loved the movie.
You heard it here, the new hashtag for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is #RogueOneDerful. So in addition to being a badass Jedi and original cast member of the franchise, Luke Skywalker also appears to be a marketing genius. Mark Hamill loves how the universe was expanded in the standalone movie, but also enjoys how the movie works on its own.
Overall, Mark Hamill's thoughts on Rogue One are pretty interesting, considering both his involvement in the franchise, as well as the critical reception that the film has otherwise received. The film has garnered a fair amount of criticism for its pacing, which is said to be a bit lackluster in the first half. Hamill seems to disagree with this, and believes that the standalone movie is consistently entertaining, from beginning to end.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is currently in theaters.
