Mark Hamill's emotional Millennium Falcon return

​Mark Hamill "welled up with emotion" when he first stepped aboard the Millennium Falcon in preparation for filming 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'.

The 66-year-old actor spent a large amount of time on the iconic vehicle as Luke Skywalker in the original 'Star Wars' movies, and in the eighth instalment of the franchise, Mark was able to step onto the ship for the first time since filming 'The Empire Strikes Back' in 1980.

Mark decided to pay a visit to the set - which was extensively reconstructed to be identical to the one from the original trilogy - with his wife Marilou and their children, Nathan, 38, Griffin, 34, and Chelsea, 29, before his scheduled shooting day, and admits he was overcome with emotion.

Speaking to reporters, he said: "I'm telling you, I didn't expect to have the reaction I had. I was there with my family, with Nathan and Griffin and Chelsea and my wife Marilou, and [Lucasfilm] asked if the documentary crew could be there when I came back on the Millennium Falcon. I mean, this was not on the shooting day. I was just street clothes and going to visit that set. And I said, 'Sure.'

"It was sort of like visiting an old house that you lived in when you were a kid. I mean, I just welled up with emotion and I said, 'I need to be by myself.'"

The spaceship was most notably owned by Han Solo - played by Harrison Ford - in the sci-fi franchise, who was killed by his own son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in 2015's 'The Force Awakens'.

'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' hits cinemas next month, and also stars Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Andy Serkis as Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Lux, and the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia in scenes filmed prior to her passing.