Do or Do Not Check in With the Star Wars Cast, There Is No Try

The Sweet Way Billie Lourd Is Honoring Late Mom Carrie Fisher for ‘Star Wars’ DayYou say you love checking in with the cast of Star Wars? We know. Not always onboard with the sentiment, however, was Harrison Ford, who admittedly tried to put a lot of mileage between himself and Han Solo after Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi closed out the initial trilogy in 1983. Hence his own surprise to be so moved by his experience returning to a galaxy far, far away for 2015's The Force Awakens. "I never thought it would come back to bless me rather than haunt me,” Ford admitted at San Diego Comic-Con at the time, adding, "The original Star Wars that I was a part of really was the beginning of my working life.” But while a few (dozen) other projects may be jockeying for prime position in the 84-year-old's screen legacy, Mark Hamill knows where his celebrity Force lies. "I’ll never get used to the fan reaction," he told Parade in 2017, when he returned as Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. Noting he'd just been to New York Comic-Con, Hamill explained, "It’s so ingrained in their life experience; they’re transformed by it. Some of them are just vibrating because they’re so excited."Even just in the past decade, let alone the 49 years since the original Star Wars (a.k.a. Episode IV—A New Hope, the extra title bestowed on it in 1981) came out, the universe has expanded dramatically on screens of all sizes, with streaming series like The Mandalorian and Andor filling in the lore gaps along with the likes of Rogue One and Solo (both subtitled A Star Wars Story).Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/ShutterstockThe latest installment in the sprawling franchise, 2026's The Mandalorian and Grogu, has landed on Disney+, starring Pedro Pascal as the mostly helmeted titular bounty hunter and the cutest CGI-enhanced animatronic puppet you've ever seen. Truly adorable, Baby Yoda is. But though almost everyone who's populated the live-action cinematic universe and various TV shows have been distinguished additions to the canon, we're only here because of the unbelievable chemistry generated by the actors in the O.G. trilogy—whether they ever showed their faces or not. So, while we'll never tell you the odds, we are here to catch you up on what happened to the Star Wars cast after they first made movie magic. Don't everybody thank us at once:Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images, Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty ImagesHarrison FordPlaying Han Solo wasn't career-defining for Harrison Ford, but only because he's also Indiana Jones, as well as a Best Actor Oscar nominee for Witness, and the star of blockbusters such as The Fugitive and Air Force One. And by the time he took his talents to TV, it was a prestige move, and he's a two-time Emmy nominee for Shrinking. Born in 1942, Ford shares two sons with first ex-wife Mary Marquardt, a son and daughter with late second ex-wife Melissa Mathison, and son Liam with wife Calista Flockhart.Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Monica Schipper/Getty ImagesMark HamillMark Hamill used the Force that was playing Luke Skywalker to be an in-demand presence at every Comic-Con ever after. While he's never really left our screens, in live or animated form, his biggest non-Jedi gig has been voicing the Joker in various Batman cartoons and video games, as well as Marvel villain Red Skull and a baddie on Adventure Time. After returning to his Star Wars role in 2015's The Force Awakens, 2017's The Last Jedi and (in a cameo) 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, he scored plum roles in 2024's The Life of Chuck and 2025's The Long Walk. Hamill has been married to Marilou York since 1978 and they share three children.Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film FestivalCarrie FisherAfter leading the rebel alliance as Princess Leia turned Senator Organa, Carrie Fisher went on to write best-selling novels and memoirs, play Meg Ryan's BFF in When Harry Met Sally and star in her 2006 one-woman show Wishful Drinking. And, on 30 Rock, she implored Tina Fey, "Help me, Liz Lemon! You're my only hope!" Fisher died at age 60 on Dec. 27, 2016, four days after she suffered a cardiac event on a flight from London to Los Angeles. She was mom to daughter Billie Lourd with ex-partner Bryan Lourd. While The Last Jedi featured previously shot footage of Fisher from The Force Awakens, her final live film appearance came in the posthumously released documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, which chronicled her tumultuous bond with her mother. Reynolds died the day after her daughter passed away.Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Erika Goldring/Getty ImagesAnthony DanielsAnthony Daniels, born in 1946, has made a career playing the multilingual, relentlessly well-mannered C-3PO, appearing in every Star Wars universe film, including 2008's animated Clone Wars and 2026's The Mandalorian and Grogu, and on dozens of TV shows. The English actor has been married to Christine Savage since 2013. Ben Martin/Getty Images, Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Jason Merritt/Getty ImagesPeter MayhewPeter Mayhew, who naturally towered over his co-stars at 7-foot-3 (a result of pituitary gigantism, according to his family), played Han Solo's Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca from 1977's Star Wars through 2015's The Force Awakens. The Surrey native helped coach his successor, Finnish actor Joonas Suotamo, who tag-teamed with Mayhew in The Force Awakens before taking over in subsequent Star Wars films. Mayhew died in 2019 at the age of 74. Survivors included his wife of 20 years, Mary Cigainero.Michael Putland/Getty Images, Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Shirlaine Forrest/WireImageDavid ProwseWhile James Earle Jones provided Darth Vader's iconic voice, 6-foot-7 former bodybuilder David Prowse cut an imposing figure as the leader of the Galactic Empire, cast for his huge stature. The British actor had previously appeared in a crucial scene in A Clockwork Orange, and went on to train stars such as Christopher Reeve for Superman and Cary Elwes for The Princess Bride. His final film appearance came in the indie British film The Kindness of Strangers, which screened at Cannes in 2010. The following year he released the memoir Straight from the Force's Mouth. Prowse died at age 85 after a short illness, his agent said on Nov. 29, 2020. He shared three children with wife Norma Scammell.Ron Galella/ Getty, Frank Connor/Lucasfilm/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, John Atashian/GettyJames Earl JonesLuke might have shrugged at the whole father reveal if it hadn't been made by James Earl Jones, who provided the commanding, sonorous voice of Darth Vader (and CNN, and Mufasa, and our lives). When the actor died at 93 on Sept. 9, 2024, this iconic role shared headline space with the fact that the star of stage and screen had also earned an EGOT. Jones was dad to son Flynn with second wife Cecilia Hart, who died in 2016.Express Newspapers/Getty Images, Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Dave Benett/Getty ImagesKenny BakerR2-D2's personality came courtesy of 3-foot-8 entertainer Kenny Baker, who almost turned down the opportunity to operate the lovable droid because he didn't want to break up his comedy duo The Mini Tones. But soon enough, the British actor was in Tunisia filming Star Wars, and he remained in the role through 2005's Revenge of the Sith. He later consulted on The Force Awakens. Baker died on Aug. 13, 2016, 11 days shy of his 82nd birthday. He was married to Eileen Baker from 1970 until her death in 1993, and they shared two children.Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Tristan Fewings/Getty ImagesIan McDiarmidIan McDiarmid stayed cloaked as Emperor Palpatine from his franchise debut in The Empire Strikes Back through 2019's The Rise of Skywalker. But the Scottish actor, born in 1944, has kept busy in between evil empire gigs, directing for screen and stage while appearing in films such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sleepy Hollow and the Lost City of Z.Lucasfilm/Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock, Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for TCMBilly Dee WilliamsBilly Dee Williams' Lando Calrissian seemed awfully happy to resume command of the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back. The actor, novelist and painter—and, incidentally, first Black actor with a major role in the Star Wars franchise—reprised the part in Return of the Jedi and 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, as well as voiced the character in a number of animated shows and video games. Otherwise, the Lady Sings the Blues star has been everywhere from Dynasty and Tim Burton's Batman to Key & Peele and Glee, and he competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2014. Williams, born in 1937, shares son Corey with first wife Audrey Sellers and daughter Miyako and Hanako with third wife Teruko Nakagami, whom he married in 1972.