“Star Wars” icon Mark Hamill mourns Darth Vader actor James Earl Jones: 'RIP dad'

Hamill eulogized his costar as "one of the world's finest actors whose contributions to 'Star Wars' were immeasurable."

"I am your father."

With just four words to his costar Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones delivered one of the biggest movie reveals in Hollywood history and cemented his place in the Star Wars history books three times over. Now 41 years later, Hamill himself is mourning the loss of his onscreen dad.

Jones died Monday at 93, surrounded by his family, the actor's rep confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. Hamill reacted to the news on social media, writing, "#RIP dad" and adding a broken-heart emoji.

Related: James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams actor and iconic voice of Darth Vader, dies at 93

Hamill is one of the biggest names among the Star Wars fandom, having starred as Luke Skywalker across the three movies of George Lucas' original trilogy, with additional appearances as the character in TV shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, as well as the most recent movie trilogy. Jones similarly achieved legend status by voicing Sith Lord Darth Vader, Luke's biological father, starting with the 1977 original. David Prowse provided the physical performance of Vader inside the costume.

Hamill, recently seen at the Toronto Film Festival to promote his new movie The Life of Chuck, also shared a rare photo of him posing with Jones from back in the day. "One of the world's finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable," the actor wrote. "He'll be greatly missed."

Related: James Earl Jones allowed A.I. software to use earlier Darth Vader voice recordings as he steps back from role

Outside of the first two film trilogies, Jones' voice can be heard as Vader in 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker, 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, episodes of Star Wars Rebels, and the Star Tours theme park attraction.

In 2022, reports emerged that Jones had moved to step back from the Vader role in the franchise. According to Vanity Fair, the actor signed off to allow Lucasfilm and Skywalker Sound to use archived recordings to replicate his Vader voice through artificial intelligence software in future projects, including the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

"He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character," Obi-Wan Kenobi supervising sound editor Matthew Wood said at the time. "So how do we move forward?"

Related: James Earl Jones will have a landmark Broadway theater named after him

In the wake of Jones' death, the outpouring from Hollywood continues to grow. Fellow actor Colman Domingo and director Barry Jenkins (who's making the Mufasa prequel movie based on another famous Jones voice role) are among those praising his work and legacy.

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"Forever and always legendary," Jenkins wrote on Instagram, while Domingo called Jones "a master of our craft."

Lucas himself shared a statement through Lucasfilm, which published it on the official Star Wars website. "James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit,” the architect of Star Wars said. “For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being a devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us...friends and fans alike."

“The menacing baritone he brought to Darth Vader will forever be beloved by fans and regarded as one of the great villainous performances in cinema," Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy remarked in her own comment. "His commanding presence on screen, and warm personality off screen, will be greatly missed.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.