Nitro has gone and made a good point...so we'll never hear from Fox in this discussion again.

Because Mark Hamill is a terrible actor.

@gangsta_red

No, just no. A lead role in one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, the trilogy with so much influence among the movie industry and changed the science fiction genre forever.

@Deadpooled

And you truly believe Mark Hamill had anything to do with that?

If that were true then what iconic movies and great acting jobs has he had or been in since?

Because he didn't have the star power to really get people to go see him. He's famous, but not in the same league in terms of box office draw as Nicholson. Ledger had his own draw, and not as much as Nicholson, but still more than Hammil has really gotten in a long time.

Unfortunately, people just see him as Luke Skywalker. He's a good actor, and a phenomenal voice actor, and the part of the Joker isn't really about the looks, rather the personality. Nicholson, Ledger, and even Ceasar Romero back in the old series, all had different looks, but brought different aspects to the forefront. There is no reason that Hammil couldn't pull it off IMO, but he may be getting a bit too old now to play a younger character like that.

OTOH, given that comic book fans also tend to be Star Wars fans, it's likely they wouldn't mind him playing the part, since I've never heard anyone criticize his voice performance in the part.

@gangsta

I believe Lucas is terrible at directing good actors. Hammil is a good actor. Not the greatest, although arguably he is one of the better voice actors out there, but one would be hard pressed to see his acting ability in anything that Lucas directed. I mean, Lucas had some of the best actors in Hollywood give some of their most wooden and worst performances in their careers in the prequels...if that puts things in perspective. Even Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer had weak performances in the original series compared to their other work, despite Ford being the best part of the original films.

For the time Star Wars originally released though, Hammil's performance was in no way bad, and was not uncommon form for the day.

@gangsta red

He had an award winning role in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as Cockknocker. Lol

He also does the voice of skips on the Regular Show. (I had no clue of this). Outstanding voice actor but fill in his film role with anyone else and you get the same performance.