Mark Hamill, who made the Star Wars character Luke Skywalker a movie icon, has been expressing his opinion about the portrayal of the Jedi in Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. During
interviews for the film, Hamill has said that the Luke in the new
installment is not true to that of the original character. He has since
been criticized and praised for his comments, but recently took to
Twitter to set the record straight.
“I regret voicing my doubts & insecurities in public,” he
tweeted. “Creative differences are a common element of any project but
usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more
than that – [Rian Johnson] made an all-time GREAT one!”
In regards to the new and more weathered Luke (who has obviously been
through some tough times), Hamill also said that he wished Johnson
would have listened to Star Wars creator George Lucas about the
character. “This is the next generation of Star Wars,” Hamill said, “so
I almost had to think of another character … but I had to do what Rian
wanted me to do because it serves the story well, … I still haven’t
accepted it completely.”
In another interview, Hamill said he understands the Luke character’s
“regret at being wrong about who the chosen one was,” which in Star Wars: The Force Awakens resulted
in him living in self-imposed exile. But, he said, Luke’s dialogue
about the Jedi in the new film is something he believes Luke never would
say. So he had to figure out “what could have happened that would make
the most hopeful, optimistic character end up in this dark place.”
Despite his reservations, Hamill continued to praise Johnson for his work on the film. The portrayal of Luke in The Last Jedi has
been divisive among fans. In addition, there have been many strong
opinions that stem from audience reviews vs. critic reviews. Even so,
the box office is still growing for Episode VIII of the franchise.