Key Takeaways:
* Mark Hamill was shocked by the twist in “The Empire Strikes Back” and expected another twist revealing Boba Fett as Luke's mother.
* The actor even pitched this idea to George Lucas but it wasn't accepted.
* The Star Wars prequel trilogy later revealed that Natalie Portman's character, Padmé Amidala, was the mother of Luke and Leia.
Expecting a Twist after The Empire Strikes Back
Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, was taken aback by the major plot twist in “The Empire Strikes Back”. Here, Darth Vader makes the astonishing revelation of being Luke's father. This surprise left Hamill suspicious of any other character behind a mask, wondering if another significant twist lay in wait.
Luke's Unexpected Mother Revealed?
Hamill's suspicion extended to the character Boba Fett, a masked bounty hunter from the series. In the audio commentary for “Return of the Jedi”, available on Blu-ray, Hamill openly discusses his thoughts. According to him, the twist of Darth Vader being Luke's father was so disorienting he half expected George Lucas to reveal Boba Fett as Luke's mother. Hamill, in fact, claimed, “I thought when they unmask Boba Fett, it's going to be my mother or something wild”.
Twists, Confusion and a Jesting Proposal
The premature and unexpected death of Fett early in “Return of the Jedi” left Hamill, along with fans, surprised and somewhat unsatisfied. His humorous musing then led to a real proposal. In 2018, the actor revealed via social media that he had actually pitched the idea of Fett being Luke's mother to George Lucas. “I once suggested it to George as the only way we could top Vader being my father”, he wrote. Hamill's envisaged plot saw Luke's mother working as a double agent, but ultimately siding with the Rebels. For him, it was thus plausible for Fett to be unmasked as Luke's mother.
Lucas Rejects Hamill's Pitch
George Lucas, however, was far from enamored with the idea. Lucas had a rough vision of who he imagined Luke's mother to be and, perhaps amusingly in retrospect, definitively rejected Hamill's pitch. Almost sixteen years later, when Lucas returned to the franchise with the prequel trilogy, it was revealed that Natalie Portman's character, Padmé Amidala, was Luke and Leia's mother. This was a clear departure from Hamill's jestful but sincere proposal.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, the Star Wars franchise has given us many surprising and intriguing plot twists. Mark Hamill's pitch of Boba Fett as Luke's mother may not have made the cut, but it certainly adds to the fascinating lore of the series. We can wonder what if it had been accepted or how it might have influenced the grand story. Meanwhile, the complete Star Wars saga, filled with the actual twists and turns it took, continues to be available for streaming on Disney+.
