The Big Bang Theory Season 11 will come to an end with an epic finale that features Sheldon and Amy's wedding, some guest stars playing long-awaited characters, and Mark Hamill himself dropping by. Yes, the man who brought Luke Skywalker to life will appear on the show filled with characters who adore Star Wars, and there will undoubtedly be plenty of laughs to go around. Given that Mark Hamill is kind of a big deal, fans may have been wondering ever since the news of his appearance broke how exactly a sitcom got him on board. Showrunner Steve Holland dished on how Hamill agreed to appear in the finale, saying this:
When we started talking about the wedding episode, Mark was the first name on the list. I'm a huge life-long Star Wars fan and we started talking about fun guest stars and were making our dream list -- and Mark was at the top of it. We had a rough shape of what the episode was going to be but we didn't have all the specifics. We got him on the phone and told him what our thoughts were... He was understandably nervous about not having to commit to something, especially committing to the role he's playing without seeing a script. But he came in and talked to us for a few hours and hung out with the writers. We had a good time together and he luckily decided to trust us and take a leap of faith. He signed on without seeing word one.
If only everybody had the option to just call up Mark Hamill and ask him to hang out and work on a project! Apparently, showrunner Steve Holland and the other folks behind the scenes at The Big Bang Theory had Hamill as the #1 guest star they wanted for the big Season 11 finale, and he didn't even need to read a script to agree on an appearance. Hamill felt that the final script would be worth his time.
Of course, since fellow Star Wars actors Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones appeared on the show, perhaps Hamill trusted that the show knew how to handle sci-fi icons. Steve Holland's comments to THR indicate that Mark Hamill had faith in the team at The Big Bang Theory. Considering how excited one Big Bang star was about working with Hamill, I think it's safe to say he was a fun guy to have on set.
Unsurprisingly, Mark Hamill will play himself -- or at least a fictionalized version of himself -- on The Big Bang Theory. There was no way The Big Bang Theory could bring in one of the most iconic sci-fi actors of all time to play a character! Besides, if Mark Hamill was playing a character, we wouldn't get to see all the other characters react to having THE Mark Hamill at Sheldon and Amy's wedding. That said, some other big-name guest stars will play characters. Kathy Bates and Raymond Teller are on board to play Amy's parents, and they'll be around in his story moving forward.
The Big Bang Theory hasn't revealed too much about how or why Mark Hamill will turn up at Sheldon and Amy's wedding, but Hamill does make an appearance in the trailer for the big finale. Take a look!
I'm not sure that many people would slam the door in Mark Hamill's face out of sheer excitement at meeting him, but I think most of the Big Bang Theory audience will be able to relate to Howard's need to freak out. It is Mark Hamill. We'll have to wait and see how the rest of the characters react to having Luke Skywalker in the mix for this very special occasion.
The Season 11 finale of The Big Bang Theory will air on Thursday, May 10 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. For what you can watch after The Big Bang Theory and the rest of the 2017-2018 shows have come to an end for the season, swing by our summer TV premiere guide.
