J.J. Abrams: Mark Hamill Will Win An Oscar For ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’

J.J. Abrams might have just seriously jinxed Mark Hamill. That’s because the director, who previously oversaw The Force Awakens, which ever so briefly starred Mark Hamill, has joked that this time next year the actor will be in contention for an Academy Award for his performance in The Last Jedi.

While J.J. Abrams isn’t returning to direct The Last Jedi, having done so on The Force Awakens, he’s still onboard as its executive producer, it sounds as though he’s been given a sneaky peak at Star Wars: The Last Jedi. And he was clearly quite taken with Mark Hamill’s performance in the blockbuster. But it was rather obvious that J.J. Abrams was joking when he made the below comments.

“I think we are all going to be every upset if he does not win an Oscar, and no one more upset than Mark.”

J.J. Abrams made this declaration about Mark Hamill’s work in Star Wars: The Last Jedi to the New York Daily News at the Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles, which supports the U.S. Ireland Alliance.

There’s a huge anticipation surrounding Mark Hamill’s work in The Last Jedi. This will mark the actor’s fourth occasion in which he plays Luke Skywalker, having previously done so in A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi, and then The Force Awakens, even though his work in the latter lasted for just one minute and he didn’t even say a word.

During the same discussion, which was also attended by Flickering Myth, J.J. Abrams admitted that he feels a little bit of regret and “pain” that he’s not the one directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi instead of Rian Johnson. However, J.J Abrams still insisted that Rian Johnson is the perfect choice to oversee the film, before then confirming that he has already seen the movie, and he’s ecstatic at the work that the Brick, Looper, and The Brothers Bloom director has done.

“Sure, there’s definitely a pain, but Rian Johnson is a great filmmaker and storyteller, and I think what he’s done is… well, you will see, but for me, I was less jealous and more excited as a fan of the series. My involvement [as executive producer] is minimal as Rian Johnson is a filmmaker who doesn’t need babysat. He is hard at work in editing the movie now and it’s going to be amazing.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will invariably be a rather emotional experience for movie fans. That’s because it will mark the final appearance of Carrie Fisher as General Leia in the Star Wars franchise. Sadly, Fisher died towards the end of December after suffering a heart attack on a transatlantic flight back to Los Angeles from London.

The entire Star Wars crew, as well as the whole cinematic community, was in shock after the news of Fisher’s death emerged, and tributes soon started to pour in for Carrie Fisher soon after her passing was confirmed. J.J. Abrams decided to pay another tribute to Carrie Fisher over the weekend, too, confirming that their friendship went way beyond him simply directing her in The Force Awakens and that they were pals for decades before.

“She will be remembered for exactly who she was — one of the most brilliant minds: irreverent, clever, blinding-bright. I knew her for decades. To know her and to work with her, especially as that character, was surreal and a beautiful thing.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi will finally be released on December 15, 2017, while as well as Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, the film will also star Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, and Benicio Del Toro, too.

[Featured Image by Lucasfilm]