THE LAST JEDI Director Rian Johnson Recalls "F***ing Terrifying" Arguments with Mark Hamill Over Luke Skywalker

During a recent interview with The Direct Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson was asked about what it was like to discuss the character Luke Skywalker with Mark Hamill. Apparently, it wasn’t easy and the filmmaker said it was “fucking terrifying.”

As you know, the opinions of fans were split on how Luke Skywalker was handled in the film as he was presented as a broken version of the character who was haunted by his failures involving Ben Solo along with wrestling with his disillusionment with the Jedi.

I liked some aspects of how Luke was handled, but there were other things that I didn’t like. Hamill has been very vocal about his thoughts on the matter, and he wasn’t happy with it. Johnson had this to say about talking with Hamill about Luke:

“If Mark Hamill is talking to me about Luke Skywalker, I’m [going to] listen to him, and I [got to] think about that and argue with him and go back and forth, and genuinely plumb the depths of my soul and what I wrote and figure out if this seems right. Also, though, remembering that, obviously, he created the character on screen, but he’s Mark Hamill. He’s not literally Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker lives as a creation on that screen. He’s a myth, and as such, he only really lives in the minds of people who listen to and in various ways believe that myth. And I know that was me. So, it’s complicated. But I mean, the short answer to your question is it was fucking terrifying.”

He went on to say:

“For all the back and forth, on day one of shooting, Mark said, ‘Okay, this is the vision that you’re going for, and I’m going to do the best version of that I possibly can.'”

I will say this… The only opinion anyone should’ve been listening to in regards to Luke Skywalker’s story arc is George Lucas’ opinion. As the creator of the character, the person that knows him inside and out, Lucas is the one they should’ve listened to. Would you agree?

Well, before Disney bought Lucasfilm, Lucas had a story treatment for how he wanted this new trilogy to play out, and in a way, Johnson followed Lucas’ plan. It’s explained that his story was set “30 years after the fall of the Empire, Luke had gone to a dark place and secluded himself in a Jedi temple on a new planet.” Over the course of that movie, Luke would rediscover his vitality and reluctantly train this new Jedi. You can see some original concept art for that here.

What are your thoughts on how Luke was handled in The Last Jedi?