Thanks to the powers of social media, Mark Hamill has become something of a Star Wars authority in recent years, interacting with fans and generally standing up for what he believes in.
Case in point: soon after The Last Jedi debuted in theaters late last year, and a pocket of hateful trolls began harassing Kelly Marie Tran, Hamill brought the foot down, admitting that he was appalled that any human being – let alone a Star Wars fan – would consciously go out of their way to make another person’s life miserable. Worse yet, there are those who actively celebrated Tran’s social media exodus.
Three months later, and the actress is back, back, back with a defiant message to her bullies: she won’t stand for any further harassment, and is very much looking forward to reprising the role of Rose Tico for Star Wars: Episode IX.
And now, Hamill has weighed in on the situation to voice his support of The Last Jedi actress and everything she stands for:
I said it before & I'll say it again: WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE? 😍
I love you, Loan… we don't deserve you & you ARE just getting started.#ReelLifeHeroRoseTico #RealLifeHeroKellyMarieTran https://t.co/wH7Hs4CQKT— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) August 21, 2018
This isn’t the first time that Mark Hamill has leaped to Tran’s defense; back in June, he was among the first to criticize those Star Wars ‘fans’ for their bullying and spiteful scare tactics. Thank the heavens, then, that Kelly Marie Tran rose above the hate and is now maintaining some sort of dialogue with those earnest and genuine fans eagerly anticipating her next appearance on the big, big screen.
Up next for Lucasfilm’s space opera is the launch of Star Wars: Episode IX next Christmas, and we’ve since learned that the J.J. Abrams-directed threequel may circle back to explore the formation of Snoke’s Starkiller Base. December 20th, 2019 is the date for your diaries.