Around the time of Star Wars Celebration Orlando (which was held earlier this year), Mark Hamill made a surprising statement that revealed that he disagreed with where director Rian Johnson would be taking Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. More recently, Hamill clarified that he was surprised and not unhappy with the direction Luke’s story would go.
In a short conversation with Variety before the Tony Awards, Mark Hamill explained what he meant by his statement and clarified what he meant:
“I got into trouble because… I was quoted as saying to Rian that I fundamentally disagree with everything you decided about Luke, and it was inartfully [sic] phrased. What I was, was surprised at how he saw Luke. And it took me a while to get around to his way of thinking, but once I was there it was a thrilling experience. I hope it will be for the audience too.”
The remark can be seen in the video below:
Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) shares his favorite memories of Adam West (@therealadamwest) and discusses #StarWars on the #Tonys red carpet. pic.twitter.com/3JEKmzNzq7
— Variety (@Variety) June 12, 2017
Detractors who are desperate to find fault in the incredible success that the Star Wars franchise has had since Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm took Hamill’s initial statement as a sign that the actor was incredibly unhappy with The Last Jedi and that the movie is going to be terrible. However, a recent Twitter exchange involving a fan, Johnson, and Hamill make note that the actor really came around to Luke’s unexpected new story arc:
— P-Thug (@Hermann22) May 26, 2017
Given that Luke Skywalker is said to be the central figure in The Last Jedi, it’s safe to say that we’ll be getting a good understanding of why Luke is so different in this new era of Star Wars than how many of us have imagined that he would be. Hopefully, most fans will come around to it in the same way that the actor himself has.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi will rise on December 15, 2017. The movie’s cast includes Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Armitage Hux, Benicio Del Toro as “DJ”, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, and Jimmy Vee as R2-D2.
Source: Twitter
