The new movies from Star Wars are controversial. One of the main actors from the original trilogy has raised some concerns. His criticism mainly focuses on his own character – which is why he has come up with his own backstory.
Warning: Spoilers ahead, we will go into details from episodes 7 and 8.
What is the criticism? That Mark Hamill has major issues with the sequels of Star Wars, namely episodes 7-9, is no secret. At several moments before and after the premieres of the films, he has commented on it, sometimes more diplomatically than at other times. On YouTube, there are now even compilations of these interviews where Hamill tried to “warn” us about the sequels.
A major point of criticism for the actor is how the new films handle his own character Luke. After the Jedi has only a brief appearance at the end of episode 7, he gets considerably more screen time in episode 8.
After a lengthy discussion, he becomes Rey’s mentor, but he refuses to join his old friends in the Rebellion. Luke lives in exile on a remote island on the planet Ahch-To. He has turned away from his existence as a trainer of younger Jedi and is no longer the idealistic man he was in episodes 4-6.
The reason for this in the film is that the Jedi Temple where Luke taught was destroyed, Kylo Ren escaped Luke’s control, killed most of the students, and fled with a few. However, Mark Hamill has a problem with this explanation.
That is why he approached director Rian Johnson and told him that he had come up with an alternative backstory for Luke.
If you want to know how Star Wars: Episode 8 ranks in our ranking, feel free to check out MeinMMO.
Hamill’s version is quite dark
What does the alternative look like? According to Hamill, it takes more than just a lost student and the downfall of his Jedi Temple for Luke to bitterly decide to go into exile.
The reason the actor came up with is much more personal. He described it in the podcast Bullseye with Jesse Thron on YouTube. To describe it in Hamill’s own words:
I thought about what could drive someone to abandon their devotion to something that is essentially a religious institution, to give up their life as a Jedi. Well, the love of a woman. So he falls in love with a woman. He gives up his life as a Jedi. They have a child together. At some point, the child, still a toddler, picks up an unattended lightsaber, presses the button, and is immediately killed. The woman is so filled with grief that she takes her own life.
This story is quite dark for Star Wars standards and is reminiscent of Anakin, who slaughters a whole tribe of Tusken Raiders in episode 2.
Whether Hamill’s backstory makes sense is another question. How a lightsaber ends up in the hands of a toddler is, for example, unclear. Would Luke, one of the most powerful Jedi of all time, be that reckless?
Moreover, Mark Hamill emphasizes in the interview that despite his dissatisfaction with Luke in the sequels, he greatly admires the director of episode 8, Rian Johnson. Especially his artistry in staging scenes is remarkable.
However, he did not understand the character Luke the way Hamill would have liked. What do you think about this? Were you satisfied with Luke in episode 8, and what do you think of Hamill’s alternative backstory? Feel free to write us in the comments. The actor had his issues with the original trilogy as well: “Who talks like that?” – Mark Hamill begged to remove a line from Star Wars that he simply found terrible
