luke skywalker last jedi

When ‘Star Wars’ fans were finally reunited with Luke Skywalker in the closing moments of the ‘The Force Awakens’ back in 2015, many were stunned that the film ended without the Jedi Master speaking a single word. Indeed, the sentiment was reportedly shared by Mark Hamill himself when he first read the script. All of this, along with the two-year wait between ‘The Force Awakens’ and its sequel, ‘The Last Jedi’ has combined to lend Luke’s first words in the upcoming film – whatever they may be – nigh-mythical weight in some corners.

But does Luke’s first line really merit all this fuss? Maybe, maybe not. The simple fact is that fans were going to make a big deal out of it regardless of whether it fell at the beginning of  ‘The Force Awakens’ or even, improbably, at the closing moments of ‘The Last Jedi’ – just look at Han’s utterance of “Chewie, we’re home’ if you need any proof of that.

According to Mark Hamill, though, we may have already heard Luke’s most important line in the film, and despite the anticipation, it’s not his first. As he explained on ‘Good Morning America’:

“In fact, the most important line, I think, Luke says is “This is not going to go the way you think.” When I read the script, I was stunned.”

For such a significant line to end up in the trailer isn’t unheard of, particularly as it’s not an overt spoiler. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to revisit that trailer once we’ve all seen the film and know whatever it is that Hamill now knows, whatever causes him to invest so much meaning into that one line.

While on the show, Hamill also remarked on his role – such as it was – in ‘The Force Awakens’, noting that while he only appears at the end, Luke’s presence is felt throughout:

“I thought “This is the most elaborate entrance of my career.” Everybody talks about me for two hours. I’m reading it and I kept marking down “The sword of Skywalker is too powerful, Skywalker must be stopped…” everybody’s talking about me! It was a shock.”

From there, he returned to the new film, teasing that while his limited appearance in ‘The Force Awakens’ was “a big surprise,” there are “much bigger surprises in ‘The Last Jedi’.” We’ll find out… Well, not soon enough, but soon.

Directed by Rian Johnson, ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ is due to arrive in theaters on December 15, 2017. The film stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Domhnall Gleeson, and Gwendoline Christie.