Mark Hamill Discusses His 'Much, Much Darker' Head Canon for Why Luke Skywalker Has Become a 'Suicidal Hermit' in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Mark Hamill has spoken successful item astir the backstory helium made up for Luke Skywalker arsenic we spot him successful Star Wars: The Last Jedi, aft moving to clarify his dissatisfaction with Rian Johnson’s story.

Hamill has made nary concealed of his disagreement with Luke’s on-screen motivations for exiling himself and becoming the hermit Rey meets successful 2017’s The Last Jedi. As Skywalker explains successful the movie, helium blames himself for Ben Solo turning to the Dark broadside of the Force, which drives him to discontinue the Jedi. When Rey tracks Luke down successful a bid to enlistee him into the Resistance, helium refuses.

Now, 8 years aft that movie came out, Hamill has gone into item connected his caput canon for wherefore Luke abandoned the Jedi.

Speaking successful an interrogation connected Bullseye with Jesse Thorn to beforehand his caller movie, The Life of Chuck, Hamill was asked astir however uncomfortable helium was erstwhile helium recovered retired Luke had exiled himself successful The Last Jedi.

Hamill’s effect started with him insisting he’s a large instrumentality of Rian Johnson, and so thinks helium made “a large movie.”

“Here’s the thing, and I’d emotion to wide this up: Rian Johnson is 1 of the astir talented directors I’ve ever worked with,” Hamill said. “He’s amiable, he’s amusive connected set, he’s smart. He made a large movie. I deliberation the staging of the stand-off betwixt Kylo Ren, Adam Driver and I astatine the end, is truthful good staged. The foreshadowing that I’m not truly there. Adam wipes the snowfall distant and you spot the reddish satellite beneath, I hitch the snowfall and it’s conscionable snow. That’s truthful subtle. I emotion Knives Out and Brick and Looper. He’s 1 of my favourite directors.

“And the information that I went nationalist with my dissatisfaction with the information for Luke becoming a suicidal hermit mightiness person colored things successful a mode that, possibly I should person kept that to myself. But I kept saying to Rian, ‘This would conscionable marque Luke treble down even…’ and helium said, ‘Well, your people astatine the Jedi Academy were wiped out.’”

This is successful notation to the country successful which a young Ben Solo brings a gathering down connected Luke Skywalker, tears a Jedi temple isolated and murders his students earlier moving distant to yet go Kylo Ren.

“I said, ‘Rian, I saw full planets wiped out! If anything, Luke doubles down and hardens his resoluteness successful the look of adversity.’ So that’s all,” Hamill explained.

“I said, ‘Can I marque up my ain backstory of wherefore helium is the mode helium is? I don’t privation to conscionable accidental that I person bumped my caput and I person encephalon damage.’ He said, ‘Yeah, bash immoderate you want.’ So I made up a much, overmuch darker backstory that I thought could warrant him being that way.”

Hamill past revealed this backstory, which surely goes places:

“I thought, what could marque idiosyncratic springiness up a devotion to what is fundamentally a spiritual entity, to springiness up being a Jedi?” Hamill began. “Well, the emotion of a woman. So helium falls successful emotion with a woman. He gives up being a Jedi. They person a kid together. At immoderate constituent the child, arsenic a toddler, picks up an unattended lightsaber, pushes the fastener and is killed instantly. The woman is truthful afloat of grief, she kills herself.”

This caput canon, Hamill explained, would person justified Luke’s actions and proven an capable information for going into self-imposed exile.

“I thought, that would be… due to the fact that I perceive these horrible stories astir these children who find unattended guns and upwind up dead,” helium continued. “That resonated with maine truthful profoundly that, that could possibly… but helium didn’t person the clip to archer a backstory similar that, I’m guessing. He conscionable wanted a little happening to explicate it. And to me, it didn’t warrant it.

“That said — and I told him [Johnson] this — contempt the information that I disagree with your choices for Luke, I’m going to bash everything wrong my powerfulness to marque your screenplay enactment arsenic champion arsenic I can. And the lone happening unfortunate astir that is, I’ve heard comments from fans who deliberation that I someway dislike Rian Johnson, and thing could beryllium further from the truth.”

The comments besides travel blistery connected the heels of Hamill’s confirmation that helium volition not instrumentality to Star Wars successful a aboriginal movie, insisting: “There's nary mode I'm gonna look arsenic a bare Force ghost.”

Rey is acceptable to instrumentality to the satellite of Star Wars successful the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to the universally panned Star Wars: Episode 9 - The Rise of Skywalker. It volition archer the communicative of Rey arsenic she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order astir 15 years aft the events of that film.

In the shorter term, The Mandalorian and Grogu is owed retired 2026. Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy's Star Wars movie starring Ryan Gosling, is owed retired successful 2027.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].