Leading up to the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, rumors of creative differences between Mark Hamill and director Rian Johnson started hitting the Internet. Fans of the franchise asked what could have gone so wrong for the actor that plays Luke Skywalker to question his big return? Now that the movie has hit theaters, we now know. Luke Skywalker is a broken man. He has given up as a Jedi and possibly using the Force. Ultimately, Luke Hamill didn’t agree with Luke becoming a more passive person.
During a press event, Hamill said that George Lucas would have never let this happen.
“I said to Rian: ‘Jedis don’t give up. I mean even if he had a problem he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake he would try and right that wrong.’ So right there we had a fundamental difference, but it’s not my story anymore. It’s somebody else’s story, and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That’s the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I’m sorry. Well in this version, see I’m talking about the George Lucas Star Wars. This is the next generation of Star Wars, so I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he is Jake Skywalker.
He’s not my Luke Skywalker, but I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well, but listen, I still haven’t accepted it completely. But it’s only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don’t get upset, and I came to really believe that Rian was the exact man that they need for this job.”
At least Hamill agrees that a change needed to happen to keep Star Wars franchise moving forward. The movie franchise is no longer about the Skywalker and is more about the Resistance.
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