Mark Hamill Disagrees with Rian Johnson’s Treatment of Luke Skywalker in ‘The Last Jedi’

During production of Star Wars: The Last Jedi word made the rounds that actor Mark Hamill, famous for his portrayal of original trilogy protagonist Luke Skywalker, wasn’t comfortable with the character’s new story line. It seems that those rumors were on the mark, as Hamill recently expounded on his feelings about Skywalker and his lack of satisfaction with director Rian Johnson’s interpretation of the iconic jedi.

*Vague Spoiler Below – Comments relate to initial setting/motivation of Skywalker. (If you’ve seen the trailers, you are probably aware.)

Hamill’s primary issue seems to be Luke’s status as a jedi in hiding. In an interview posted by SensaCine, he explained, “Luke was so optimistic and so hopeful, and cheerful.” He went on to describe where Johnson’s direction veered from his ideas of Luke, saying,

“I said to Rian, I said ‘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.”

To portray the jedi in the manner Johnson wanted, Hamill had to change his perspective on the character. He said, “I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s Jake Skywalker, he’s not my Luke Skywalker.”

Speaking of perspective, Hamill said that although he still hasn’t fully accepted the direction Johnson went in, “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 needed for this job.”

Source: SensaCine

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