Every Star Wars fan knows Luke Skywalker as the hero who destroyed the Death Star and, alongside the Rebels, helped bring down the Empire. But off-screen, Mark Hamill became a real-life hero when he granted a dying child’s deepest wish.
Ed Solomon, screenwriter of Men in Black, first shared this heartwarming story on X (formerly Twitter). Solomon’s original account is no longer available, but thanks to a preserved Reddit post, the full story still lives on.
It all began with John Sikorra, a young Star Wars fan living with juvenile Batten disease (JNCL), a rare and devastating genetic condition that slowly strips away a person’s vision, motor function, and memory. As John’s health declined, he held onto one wish: to meet Luke Skywalker. Not Mark Hamill, the actor Luke Skywalker, the Jedi he had looked up to his entire life.
The disease had already taken so much from John, but it never touched his love for Star Wars, especially his admiration for Luke. That bond remained strong, even when John could no longer tell the difference between the character and the man who played him. For John, Luke Skywalker was real.
As any father would, Joe Sikorra did everything he could to fulfill his son’s final wish. He reached out to Ed Solomon and asked if there was any chance he could get in touch with Mark Hamill. Solomon didn’t know Mark personally, but he made the call anyway.
“I had never met Mark,” Solomon shared in a now-deleted post. “But I called his agent and asked if this could happen. His agent said, ‘Please don’t say anything to the boy because I don’t want to get his hopes up.’ And then, literally less than two minutes later, Mark calls and says, ‘I would love to. How about tomorrow?’ I started bawling.”
Just like that, with one phone call and a quick decision, Mark Hamill became the hero this family needed.
The very next day, Solomon, Joe, and his two sons met up with Hamill. For John, it was a dream come true. He finally saw Luke Skywalker standing right in front of him. Like any excited fan, he had questions—lots of them. And because of his condition, he repeated many of them. But Mark stayed in character the whole time, answering each question with warmth and patience, again and again, never showing a hint of frustration.
Solomon recalled, “He not only met with the boy, but spent hours answering question after question (sometimes the same ones repeatedly), AS ‘Luke.’ Even posting this now makes me teary. He was compassionate, kind, and patient. And it literally meant the world to this kid and his family.”
But the story didn’t stop there. Before leaving, Hamill asked if John had any final questions. And John, in the most innocent and hopeful way, asked, “Can I meet Princess Leia?”
Both Solomon and Joe were caught off guard. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Joe even gestured to Mark that it was okay to not do anything more. But Hamill didn’t hesitate. He simply said, “I’ll ask.”
Later that same day, Mark called Solomon and said, “Princess Leia would be happy to meet John.” He had reached out to Carrie Fisher and told her about John’s condition. According to Solomon, Carrie became emotional hearing the story and said, “I only have two questions: Where and when?”
Unfortunately, John’s health declined quickly after that, and the meeting with Carrie never happened. But the fact that she was willing to do it, and that it came through Mark, meant everything to the family.
John passed away on September 24, 2015, at the age of 23.
His father said that day with Hamill is something the family will carry forever. “It was one of those very touching, moving things,” he said. “And in that moment, it raised John up and made him feel good and important and loved.”
Mark Hamill didn’t need to do any of it. He could’ve sent a signed photo or a quick video message. But instead, he gave his time, his heart, and his full presence. And in doing so, he gave a young fan something more powerful than the Force; he gave him joy, peace, and the feeling of being seen.
Much of this story was originally reported in more detail by The Hollywood Reporter.