The Spotlight: Mark Hamill wishes Disney had followed George Lucas' original plans for the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy
It's no secret that Mark Hamill hasn't exactly been thrilled with the creative direction of his Star Wars persona Luke Skywalker.
Although he subsequently softened and rephrased a quote of his saying he "fundamentally disagreed with everything" Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson "decided about Luke," the tone was set.
Speaking to ScreenRant last week, Hamill again mentioned his differences with Johnson. When the outlet asked if his vision for his character aligned with Johnson's, Hamill simply answered, “No.” He elaborated with the following:
“Well, I think when I read it, it’s like the movie is just mind-bogglingly complex," Hamill told ScreenRant. "It’s challenging. It’s hilarious in parts. It’s suspenseful. It’s dark and somber. I’m holding the fort down on the dark and somber. But, you know, I mean, the most shocking thing I read was it’s time for the Jedi to end. Are you… What? And I mean, I understood Luke’s regret at being wrong about who the chosen one was and he feels responsible for creating potentially the next Darth Vader and hey, I mean, ruining your nephew’s life.
"Like not perceiving that he was going to the Dark Side until too late, so that weighs heavily on him. But all the characters face challenges in the second act of a three-act play or opera. I mean this is where all the darkest things happened. I mean, there’s triumphs of course but more than its share of tragedies.”
It was thought that Star Wars creator George Lucas would maintain somewhat of an advisory role with the property when he sold Lucasfilm to Disney back in 2012, back that never happened. Lucas presented his outlines after the sale went through, but Disney wanted something different. "Something for the fans," as Lucas puts it.
Lucas has been critical of Disney's direction with the franchise, especially in regard to the first film in the new trilogy, 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In a 2015 interview with Charlie Rose, Lucas compared his semi-falling-out with Disney to a "breakup" and "divorce" and even, regrettably, referred to the conglomerate as "white slavers."
Speaking with Metro, Hamill sounds like he would have been more interested in Lucas' proposed vision.
“What I wish is that they had been more accepting of [Lucas'] guidance and advice," Hamill says. "Because he had an outline for ‘7,’ ‘8,’ and ‘9’. And it is vastly different to what they have done.”
“But then again, I don’t want to be an old stick in the mud. There were the originals. There’s the prequels. But that’s all George. And now we have the next generation. And as far as I can see they are more popular than ever.”
Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens Dec. 15.
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Very cool.
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— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) December 10, 2017
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— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) December 10, 2017
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— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) December 10, 2017
Big night.
We're Rian Johnson's cast of"Last Jedi"We hope you will enjoy the film
— @HamillHimself (@HamillHimself) December 10, 2017
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As if nothing ever happened.... Star Wars LA premiere done and now for London! pic.twitter.com/0h3mbaqpi1
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) December 10, 2017
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— Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) December 10, 2017
Together again.
Tonya.
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Praying for my town. Fires closing in. Firefighters making brave stands. Could go either way. Packing to evacuate now.
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Our house is under threat of being burned. We just had to evacuate our pets. I’m praying for everyone in our community and thankful to all the incredible firefighters. The live stream is on https://t.co/FTcKVvHO16
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) December 10, 2017
Buds.
Looks very cool.
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— Chris Miller (@chrizmillr) December 10, 2017
Winter.