Discussion Mark Hamill 'fundamentally disagreed' with Luke's story for TLJ

Mark Hamill has said, "When I read 8, I told Rian, 'I fundamentally disagree with virtually everything you've decided about my character'.

This could just be MH toying with us, but Luke Skywalker is Star Wars to me, so I find myself troubled by this, as it alludes towards what made me anxious about this trilogy in the first place. I'm happy for them shed new light on the saga with 7-9, but only if done right, and if Mark 'Mr. Luke Skywalker' Hamill fundamentally disagrees with the story for Luke Skywalker in 8 then it makes me agitated.

Sure, MH could be a bad judge, he's just the actor afterall, but he's fairly well versed in these films.

I now have to know the specifics and what MH would have expected as alternative. NOW!

 

The TLJ panel from Celebration.

 

Go to 1:57 (it doesn't seem to let me embed the link for it to start there):

 

I'm reminded of the Lisa The Vegetarian episode of the Simpsons when Lisa sarcastically "agrees" with Sherri and Terri on the highly unlikely notion that she's going to marry a carrot when she grows up, then Sherri and Terri are amazed and delighted - "She admitted it!"

 

That might have been his initial response born out of a lifelong emotional connection to the character, but that doesn't mean he's not happy now. I'm reminded of myself, virtually every time I watch a new Star Wars movie. There's usually something that makes me go "WTH?" and then, as I rewatch the film and begin to digest it, that initial feeling of indignation wears off and is replaced by appreciation for the bright side of things.

Luke may have gone through a surprising change, but I think that will ultimately be a good thing. What that change is exactly and what good it brings remains to be seen!


EDIT: Note that he adds "But it might be a good sign, 'cause I was really wrong about 7", then goes on to explain that he felt his scene at the end was an obvious cheat - but then, he didn't picture JW's music, the shots of Rey and the build-up... he was "never happier to be wrong".

 

I love how candid Mark's remarks are. Clearly he can say a lot of things and still keep his job. As far as his comments, they can be really good or really bad. Maybe Luke's character is changed a lot and people will love it. Or maybe Rian and Kathleen screwed up, and people will cringe. We will have to wait and see.

 

"Sometimes I'd say to George, did you just make this up on the ride over here?"

 

They could be even "worse" than RJ's.

 

[HAN]Well, that was long time ago, I'm sure he's forgotten about that[/HAN]

 

I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt until I see it for myself. I'm not going to make myself preemptively upset or disappointed without actually knowing what's going to happen.

 

This actually makes me even more excited. It suggests they're doing something different, and I like that.

 

Unless Mark wanted something different and that's why he disagreed with it.

 

How about we revive the old "Kylo Ren is Luke" rumor?
I think Luke will begin to wear a mask similar to Kylo and, when Kylo drops his dark persona and reverts to Ben Solo, becomes the new Kylo Ren.

 

I fundamentally disagree with that direction. Wait - I don't even know what's happening anymore.

 

On the TFA making of doc. Hamill says he thought there wouldn't, and probably shouldn't be any place for Luke Skywalker in a new Star Wars movie made in the year 2015..

Maybe that's what he meant.

RJ : "Ok Mark. So the movie starts and we have Luke Skywalker in it...."

MJ : "I fundamentally disagree with this direction Rian"

 

Hearing Hamill say that actually kind of piqued my curiosity. I'm now quite intrigued to see what will/has become of his character now. I guess I only hope that whatever it may be, we still are able to see Luke in some kind of display of force power, also something involving his lightsaber as well. That's something I (and I presume others as well) have always been waiting to see. As long as there's some of that in there, I'm up for whatever twists they have for Luke.

 

He also said that he has never been happier to be wrong.

 

...about the ending in TFA.

 

I'm going in as cold to this movie as humanly possible, so having seen no trailer or stills (yet?), I gleaned more from Daisy's response as a precursor to Mark's. No way in a million years she would likely say anything even remotely disparaging or negatively provocative (particularly within the saga context of SW, of which I'm sure she realizes she perhaps may not be the greatest judge), so I take it all to be in more of a "Wow, this is going in a crazy direction that I never would have imagined" (especially in Mark's case, who has lived through 40 years of a fairly tight, simple narrative for the most part).

Or maybe that's just all wishful thinking on my part. We've all written this screenplay in our head and have very specific personal desires for these characters (i.e., Ben is a good boy, you'll all see!).

 

I'm honestly very open-minded in regards to this story. I can see Luke dying or surviving, as a good guy or a bad guy. I can see Kylo becoming Ben or remaining on the dark side. I can see Rey remaining good, turning evil or end up in the middle.
I can even see Finn become an integral part of the central Force plot!

I'm really up for anything, as long as this trilogy brings about real change, in a manner that's in line with GL's Star Wars.

 

I think after TFA, Star Wars really could use a good "shake up". However you felt about TFA, I think its pretty clear that they did incorporate quite a few elements from ANH. You can call it poetry, you can call it a rehash, but the result is the same. Recycled elements and storylines.

Hearing that not only Hamil but Ridley had issues with the direction of the film and their characters (atleast at first) is refreshing to me. It shows Rian Johnson may truly be taking sw into a new direction.

To use a sports/sports movie analogy, it reminds me of when a new coach is hired to shake up a complacent, underperforming team. He/she will start making some big changes and use their players in different ways then they are accustomed to. Usually the team captain and another well respected player will talk to the coach early on and voice their concerns about the team direction. The coach will say, "Believe me guys, I know what i'm doing". If the team buys in and believes in him/her usually a change will be made and the movie ends with a dramatic turnaround in the teams fortunes and maybe even a championship

Now, I don't think star wars is necessarily underperforming or complacent. And Star Wars has always been a saga with a tight structure and story arcs as shown if you read the star wars ring theory which I appreciate very much. That being said, I do think after TFA and a lot of the complaints the fans had over it being a "re-hash" shows that they really needed to "shake up the team culture" and go in a new and refreshing direction. If they can do that and still keep the film well structured and tightly fitting within the rest of the saga then that is a "win" in my eyes.

Wooh... Did you get all of that?...