Luke Skywalker last jedi mark hamill

Let’s be honest, ‘The Last Jedi’ has garnered a lot of mixed opinions since it opened last weekend, to put it mildly, and apparently, it is not just amongst the fans. Before the movie even came out star Mark Hamill, who has been the face of the franchise as Luke Skywalker for 40 years, spoke in an interview about his reservations about the way Rian Johnson handled the character for ‘The Last Jedi,’ reservations that people are now taking a bit more seriously since the movie has premiered.

Hamill, of course, is diplomatic as ever, but he does raise some good points. Here’s a transcript of what Hamill had to say about Johnson’s handling of Luke’s character, or you can check out the full video right below that:

“I said to Rian, ‘Jedis don’t give up.’ I mean, even if [Luke] 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. That’s the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I’m sorry.”

 

“Well, in this version…see, I’m talking about the George Lucas Star Wars, this is the next generation of Star Wars. I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s ‘Jake Skywalker,’ he’s not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well. Listen, I still haven’t accepted it completely, but, it’s only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don’t get upset. I came to really believe that Rian was the exact man they needed for this job.”

 

I am not entirely sure if I agree with Hamill on everything he states here. I think he might still see Luke as the younger, more idealistic version of the character, and not necessarily the grizzled, more mature version that has experienced everything the Luke of ‘The Last Jedi’ has gone through. However, I do like the idea that Hamill puts forth that Jedi do not give up as it was a bit jarring to see the Luke we knew so well giving up on first his nephew (even momentarily) and then the Jedi, and even you could argue on hope, before Rey came along. The argument, however, could also be made he had not given up completely since he rejoined the fight by the end of the movie.

What are your thoughts here? I’m sure there are plenty of you as torn about the movie as I am, or some who think Hamill hit it right on the nose and think Johnson got it all wrong. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments below!