Speaking Amid Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension, Oscar Isaac Said He’d Only Return to Star Wars if Disney Did ‘Not Succumb to Fascism’

Star Wars actor Oscar Isaac has suggested that his return to the franchise was contingent on Disney not succumbing to “fascism.”

Isaac made the remark in a newly-published GQ interview conducted during the four-day period in which chat show host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by the Disney-owned ABC.

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Kimmel’s suspension came after comments made by the host discussing the activity of some MAGA supporters following the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was subsequently pulled off air and his show put on indefinite hiatus — only for it to return the following week amid mounting pressure from celebrities and a spike in Disney+ subscription cancellations.

Isaac has spoken in the past of being keen to return as Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, a role he played in all three of the Disney-era Star Wars sequels. Indeed, with lead character Rey currently set to return in at least one future Star Wars film, fans had expected other sequel-era characters to also put in an appearance — with Isaac seemingly onboard.

But when asked the same question about returning to Star Wars during Disney’s brief suspension of Kimmel, Isaac gave a notably more cautious response.

“Yeah,” he said back in September. “I mean, I’d be open to it, although right now I’m not so open to working with Disney. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great… if that happens, then yeah, I’d be open to having a conversation about a galaxy far away. Or any number of other things.”

Only a month before, Isaac had told Variety he’d “be [in] Star Wars again if there was something good to do with that,” raising fan hopes that plans were afoot for Poe’s return.

Numerous Hollywood stars spoke out against Disney’s decision to suspend Kimmel, including Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill. Marvel actors Mark Ruffalo and Pedro Pascal also backed Kimmel, as did She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany, who told her followers to cancel their Disney+ subscriptions in order to send a message.

While plans for Disney’s return to Star Wars sequel era remain nebulous, the company has said it is working on a New Jedi Order movie with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy that will see Daisy Ridley continuing her journey as a Jedi following the events of Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. Before then, the crowd-pleasing Mandalorian & Grogu are headed to the big screen on May 22, 2026, while the Ryan Gosling-fronted Star Wars: Starfighter will follow on May 28, 2027.

Image credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social