Luke Skywalker had a spouse and a child who each killed themselves. Nicely, probably not, however that’s what Mark Hamill internalized with the intention to get into the headspace of the character for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Final Jedi. The actor has shared this info earlier than, nevertheless it’s been some time, so we figured it was price discussing once more with just a little distance.
Talking on Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, Hamill defined the headcanon he created to try to perceive why Luke Skywalker would have left the Jedi within the sequel trilogy. You may watch the clip right here and we’ll quote it beneath.
Mark Hamill’s MUCH darker backstory thought for Luke within the sequel trilogy 😳
Try Saturday’s episode of Final Week in Star Wars for our ideas… pic.twitter.com/34mNbBD1xy
— Star Wars Defined (@StarWarsExplain) June 26, 2025
“I assumed, what may make somebody surrender a devotion to what’s principally a non secular entity, to surrender being a Jedi. Nicely, the love of a girl,” Hamill mentioned. “So he falls in love with a girl. He offers up being a Jedi. They’ve a baby collectively. Sooner or later the kid, as a toddler, picks up an unattended lightsaber, pushes the button and is killed immediately. The spouse is so filled with grief, she kills herself.”
He goes on to clarify how that unhappy story resonated with him due to its parallels to fashionable society and unattended weapons and that he didn’t actually purchase the reason that writer-director Rian Johnson gave within the film. Over time, Hamill has been fairly vocal that he didn’t agree with Johnson’s plans for Luke, which he reiterates right here. However that at all times bothered us a bit. That’s as a result of, in the event you keep in mind again, it was J.J. Abrams, not Rian Johnson, who put Luke on that island. Abrams made a complete film about Luke on the island, defined nothing, after which simply left it to the following man. That subsequent man, Johnson, then created a fairly freaking darkish and fascinating approach to clarify all of it: Luke nearly killed his personal nephew, who then betrayed him and murdered many, many youngsters consequently.
Why his personal model labored higher for the actor over the one within the film is unclear. Perhaps it’s simply that Hamill wanted a extra direct, emotional connection. Regardless of the case although, all that issues is he discovered one thing to get him to the place the place an viewers believed. Which he did. Hamill is improbable within the film, which we really feel is an sudden however becoming send-off for Luke Skywalker. We’re certain each single different particular person on the web agrees.
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