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Although you may not have known it when Luke Skywalker whined about those power converters in A New Hope, Mark Hamill’s legacy has zoomed past that of a galaxy far, far away with his voice-acting career. He’s especially well known for his time as The Joker in the Batman animated universe, and he recently portrayed Chucky in the Child’s Play reboot. So you’d think something like The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special would be the perfect amalgamation of the talent’s two greatest accomplishments. Yet, Hamill is not among the cast.
The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special features the voice talents of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian and Kelly Marie Tran back as Rose Tico in LEGO form, but aside from that, the animated feature largely stars actors who do not play their characters in live action. Eric Bauza did the voice for Luke Skywalker in the Disney+ special, as he has done for three other LEGO Star Wars titles. Here is Hamill’s reaction:
Now A, he jokes obviously because the original Star Wars Holiday Special has a hugely negative status in the franchise’s canon, and B, apparently he couldn’t have turned it down if he wanted to. According to Mark Hamill’s tweet, he was not even offered a role in the film. Realistically, this could be due to the budget of the Star Wars Holiday Special, which was made exclusively for Disney’s streaming service.
Also, Eric Bauza has voiced the role of Luke Skywalker many times before over the years. Back in 2014, he played him in The Yoda Chronicles, along with 2015’s Droid Tales, and 2016’s The Freemaker Adventures. Having the same voice within the LEGO Star Wars continuity makes a lot of sense; plus, giving work to primary voice actors in a largely celebrity-geared animation industry nowadays is kind of a rare win.
Since the casting of Robin Williams as Genie in Aladdin back in the ‘90s, Disney and a number of other animation studios have leaned on famous voice casts to market their films. Before then, there were a lot more voice actors who would have the opportunities to nab top roles in studio films without being known in the live-action world. Of course, Mark Hamill would have killed it it he did reprise as Luke for a voice role.
The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special centers on Rey as she discovers an object that allows her to travel through time and meet characters in Star Wars from throughout the Skywalker Saga. The special has been received warmly with positive reviews, and it serves as a nostalgic and fun ride for fans. The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is available to stream now on Disney+. You can subscribe to the streaming service using this link.
