The hype forStar Wars: The Last Jedihas hit unreal levels in the days leading up to its release. The first reactions to the highly-anticipated follow-up toStar Wars: The Force Awakenshave been almost universally positive. One specific thing that has been of note is Mark Hamill’s performance as Luke Skywalker, which some have called award-worthy. Disney and Lucasfilm seem to agree, as they’re launching an Oscar campaign to getMark Hamillnominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards.
It’s not that surprising that Disney and Lucasfilm are campaigning to get some awards love forStar Wars: The Last Jedi. The franchise is no stranger to awards, but it’s garnered more love in technical categories from the Academy over the years. Is Mark Hamill’s performance in the movie really that good? We hope so, but they are also campaigning for Daisy Ridley to be nominated in the Best Actress category for her second go as Rey, according to Awards Circuit.
“Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) will campaign in LEAD ACTOR for the #Oscars forStar Wars: The Last Jedi! Daisy Ridley will also campaign in LEAD ACTRESS! #StarWars #TheLastJedi #FYC”
While the idea of Mark Hamill possibly being nominated for his return asLuke Skywalkeris poetic, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. According to Awards Circuit, Disney and Lucasfilm are campaigning to getStar Wars: The Last Jedinominated in every major category. That includes Best Picture, Rian Johnson for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, among others. Though, this isn’t the first we’ve heard ofHamill giving an Oscar-caliber performanceinThe Last Jedi. J.J. Abrams earlier this year indicated as much.
“I think we are all going to be very upset if he does not win an Oscar, and no one more upset than Mark.”
When firstStar Warswas released, Alec Guinness was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work as Obi-Wan Kenobi. So the idea of an actor being nominated for their work in aStar Wars movieisn’t unheard of. But the field is very crowded this year and it could be really tough to actually get Mark Hamill a nomination. He’s certainly a great actor and everyone is eager to see him back as Luke, given how limited his screen time was inStar Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Golden Globes released their list of nominees andStar Warswasn’t featured in the major categories. But withStar Wars: The Last Jedi arriving in theatersthis weekend, the movie will be getting more attention and Academy members will be able to see it. You can check out the full list of nominations Disney is hoping to earn forStar Wars: The Last Jedi, courtesy ofAwards Circuit Twitter, for yourself below. Will we be hearing the words, “And the Oscar goes to, Mark Hamill” next year? Probably not, but wouldn’t that be cool?
