The Big Bang Theory truly went out with a bang when Mark Hamill was among the many celebs to cameos in the later seasons of CBS' hit comedy. Forever remembered for his iconic role as Luke Skywalker, you better believe that the episode where he officiated Sheldon and Amy’s wedding was jam-packed with a bunch of Star Wars film puns. I can’t believe that the American actor became such a fan of the comedy show after his cameo, but he shared his story about the “very clever” Star Wars burn that stuck with him checking out.
The Season 10 finale of The Big Bang Theory already did a crazy thing when Sheldon proposed to Amy. For the Season 11 finale, Shamy got married with none other than Mark Hamill as the officiant to repay Howard for finding his dog. The Empire Strikes Back actor got on board for the Season 11 finale without having read the script after having a good talk with the showrunners and writers. If you can believe it, Jessica Radloff’s tell-all book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series (via SlashFilm) revealed Hamill became a huge fan of the long-running show with a “very clever” Star Wars burn that stuck with him:
I knew they referenced all kinds of pop culture, and the characters loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy … but I had no idea how ingrained it was and how they could be so subversive in their humor. Like, they're planning a day to watch all the movies and they said, 'Well, you know, we're starting out with Phantom Menace at noon and I'm just wondering if an hour is long enough to schedule for complaints.' I thought, ‘Wow, that's a burn! Very clever.’
That truly was a major burn considering The Phantom Menace faced criticism for its childlike tone with incorporating Jar Jar Binks. But surely you can’t deny that the introduction of Darth Maul was a cool addition to the Star Wars lore. One of the best things about The Big Bang Theory was the way it incorporated Star Wars puns into the series, which tracked with what pop culture nerds the Caltech scientists are.
This is all the more reason why it was a must for the Emmy-winning sitcom to have Star Wars rule many episodes. For example, there was an episode when the nerdy bunch all went to see The Force Awakens together except for Sheldon, who chose to celebrate Amy’s birthday that night. There was also the time when James Earl Jones and Carrie Fisher guest-starred (and they actually met for the first time on the set of The Big Bang Theory).
Another unbelievable fact about Mark Hamill’s involvement in The Big Bang Theory is that the Batman voice actor didn’t watch too much of the sitcom until months after his guest-starring cameo. He said he only saw about 30-40 episodes before being the lucky A-lister to officiate Shamy’s wedding and attempt to answer wedding guests’ Star Wars questions before Stuart butted in. However, Hamill admitted he wished he could have seen all twelve seasons before his big episode in order to chat with the cast and crew of the Star Wars-centric episodes:
Once I knew all of this, it would have really changed my experience. I would have talked to them about when they go to [Lucas' home] Skywalker Ranch, or [the Season 9 episode ‘The Opening Night Excitation’] where it opens with the crawl from ["Star Wars"]. I thought I'd seen plenty when I did my episode, but I became a completist and saw them all. I didn't really become enamored of it to the degree I had become until I had the experience of being on the show. I became obsessed with it.
It may have been too late for Mark Hamill to officially acquaint himself with all the available seasons of The Big Bang Theory before appearing in an episode, but better late than never. Fortunately, The Last Jedi actor can now truly say he got to be one of the legendary guest stars to converse with Howard, Sheldon, and the other signature characters before its unforgettable series finale.
It’s really cool that Mark Hamill is such a Big Bang Theory fan long after his cameo appearance. Even if it was just for one episode, he’ll always have his experience of officiating Sheldon and Amy’s wedding as well as the clever Phantom Menace burn to stick with him always.
You can watch Mark Hamill’s Big Bang Theory episode, called “The Bow Tie Asymmetry,” and many others on your Max subscription. Feel free to take a look at our 2025 TV schedule so you already prep your TV watchlist.
