‘It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before’: Mark Hamill teases ‘sadistic’ villain in The Long Walk
Mark Hamill has said his role as the "sadistic" Major in The Long Walk is "unlike anything [he’s] ever done before".
![Mark Hamill has teased his role as the Major in The Long Walk is 'unlike anything [he’s] ever done before'](https://images.bangpremier.com/articleimage/2025_05_08__bsalscplg_1746686532cropped2907x1890.webp)
Mark Hamill has said his role as the Major in The Long Walk is “unlike anything [he’s] ever done before”.
The 73-year-old actor stars as the antagonist in the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen King’s 1979 horror novel of the same name, and Hamill has now reflected on his “sadistic” character.
During an interview with Discussing Film, the Star Wars actor said: “Well, he’s amoral. I mean, for you to be able to do what he does … he’s got to be some kind of sociopath.
“There’s no sort of backstory for him, but you know he’s a really troubled person. And sadistic and … just all those terrible things.”
Hamill added The Long Walk was completely different to his other recent projects, like the Tom Hiddleston-starring fantasy film The Life of Chuck and the upcoming animated flick The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.
He continued: “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before and that’s what I like. It’s like Life of Chuck, which is aeons away from what I do in this.
“And then I’m doing a voice in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. I love that title, [it] sounds like it’s important, but it’s the same glorified nonsense that we’ve come to expect.”
In The Long Walk, 100 teenage boys are forced to participate in a relentless walking contest where falling below a set pace means death.
As the gruelling journey unfolds, the competitors face both physical torment and psychological collapse in a fight for survival.
The movie - which was co-produced and directed by Francis Lawrence and written by J.T. Mollner - stars Cooper Hoffman, Ben Wang and Charlie Plummer, and is slated to hit screens on September 12, 2025.
Hamill’s Major is the military commander who oversees the walk, and the actor said he was drawn to the role after spending his teenage years in Japan, where his school was next to a U.S. military base.
The Batman: The Animated Series star told Variety: “I said, ‘I know who this guy is: I’ve seen him firsthand’. I’d walk across the parking lot, seeing the officers putting these guys through their paces in blazing hot sun, and they were just brutal. Like if you vomit, they force you to eat it. It’s horrible.”
Reflecting on The Long Walk, Hamill said he hopes “everyone will hate [his] guts” due to his portrayal as the Major.
He told abc's On The Red Carpet: “The premise is horrific and off-putting. But the real heart and soul is the story of these young guys and what they experience during the long walk.
“I'm just a bad a**. If I do my job right, everyone will hate my guts, that's okay.”
Hamill’s co-star Garrett Wareing - who portrays teen Stebbins in The Long Walk - warned the weight of the movie’s emotional story would hit audiences hard.
He said: “It's freaky-gets me in my gut every time. That feeling doesn't leave you.”
