Mark Hamill Says George Lucas Didn't Plan on Killing Luke Skywalker Until STAR WARS: EPISODE IX After He Trained Leia

Well, thanks to Mark Hamill, Star Wars fans can now continue to ponder what the Star Wars saga would have been had George Lucas' ideas been used. In a recent interview with IGN, Hamill revealed that Lucas didn't plan on killing off Luke Skywalker until Star Wars: Episode IX... after he trained Leia! 

"I happen to know that George didn't kill Luke until the end of [Episode] 9, after he trained Leia.  Which is another thread that was never played upon [in The Last Jedi]."

Wow! that would have made things a bit more interesting! As much as I've enjoyed the Star Wars film that have been made by J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson, I can't help but wonder why these ideas weren't utilized because they are so interesting and probably more in line with what the fans wanted to see. Hamill went on to say:

"George had an overall arc – if he didn't have all the details, he had sort of an overall feel for where the [sequel trilogy was] going – but this one's more like a relay race. You run and hand the torch off to the next guy, he picks it up and goes."

It's certainly been interesting to see the Star Wars films proceed in this way. It was actually George Lucas' original vision of how the Star Wars films would continue. But, there's still something fascinating about what Lucas would have done and how he would have handled it. 

Now, it is likely that Luke will return in Episode IX as a Force Ghost, but even if that does happen, I doubt he will get a lot of screen time. What are your thought's on George Lucas' initial plans for Luke and Leia?

The untitled Star Wars: Episode IX is currently set to hit theaters on December 20th, 2019.