Noah Romsdal Hallundbæk Sørensen
One decision in the Star Wars saga still divides fans years later.
The sequel trilogy arrived carrying decades of history and towering expectations.
Audiences hoped to see a new generation take center stage while the saga’s original heroes found a meaningful place in the story.
What followed was visually ambitious and fiercely debated. Yet one creative decision has come to symbolize a deeper disappointment for many fans.
A reunion denied
Episodes VII through IX reintroduced Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Leia Organa, but never placed them together on screen.
For a franchise defined by those three characters, the absence felt striking.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mark Hamill addressed that absence during its first Actors Roundtable of 2026.
Asked which living actor he wished he could still work with, Hamill pointed directly to Harrison Ford.
“Well, in the sequel trilogy’s Harrison Ford, ’cause I only had two cameos. I said, ‘aren’t we gonna have a moment where all three of us get together and raise the roof, it’ll only take thirty seconds.’ And JJ [Abrams] said, ‘well, Mark, it’s not Luke’s story anymore.’ I said, ‘Star Wars wasn’t Obi Wan’s story but Alec Guiness had a crucial commitment, you know…’ Anyway, nobody listens to me.”
A missed logic
Hamill’s frustration echoed a broader argument about how Star Wars works as a narrative.
The series has rarely focused on a single hero in isolation, instead balancing generations within an ensemble myth.
Alec Guinness’ Obi-Wan Kenobi is often cited as the template.
He supported Luke’s journey without overtaking it, anchoring the story in legacy while letting it move forward.
From that perspective, a brief reunion of Luke, Han and Leia would not have undermined new characters.
It could have reinforced the sequel trilogy’s stated theme of passing the torch.
Symbol of failure
Instead, the original trio were separated across different films and timelines.
Han died before seeing Luke again. Leia and Luke never shared the screen with Han in the sequel era at all.
In an age when legacy franchises routinely engineer grand returns, Star Wars’ restraint stood out.
Jurassic World, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Creed and others have leaned heavily on reunions, sometimes clumsily, but rarely ignored them altogether.
For critics and fans alike, the unmade reunion has become shorthand for the sequel trilogy’s larger struggles.
It represents not just a lost emotional beat, but a choice that can never be undone.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
