by Chris Braly
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I sense a great disturbance in the Force.
Star Wars fans feeling disenfranchised by the saga from a “galaxy far, far away” following the sudden twist and turns in Episode VIII’s “The Last Jedi” from writer-director Rian Johnson, may now count Mark Hamill on their side.
It turns out not even Luke Skywalker himself was happy with some of the directions the latest “Star Wars” installment took. In press interviews for the film, Mark Hamill has been very vocal on more than one occasion regarding his displeasure with director Rian Johnson’s choices for the beloved character.
But it’s one interview in particular where Hamill gets visibly upset with Skywalker being a grumpy, old Jedi in exile in “Episode VIII” that has started to get fans to talk.
“I said to Rian, I said, Jedis don’t give up. I mean even if he [Luke] had a problem he would maybe take a year to try and regroup,” said Hamill. “If he made a mistake, he would try and right that wrong. So, right there we had a fundamental difference. But, it’s not my story anymore. It’s somebody else’s story [Rey’s], and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective.”
Since the film’s release, Hamill has given several press interviews where his disagreement occasionally rears its head. Some Star Wars fans started compiling them together on a YouTube video from the full interviews to highlight this fact.
This isn’t the first time Hamill has spoken up about his role in “Episode VIII.” In Vanity Fair’s May issue, Hamill first voiced dissatisfaction with Rian Johnson’s direction of Luke’s character.
“I pretty much fundamentally disagree with every choice you’ve made for this character,” said Hamill. “Now, having said that, I have gotten it off my chest, and my job now is to take what you’ve created and do my best to realize your vision.”
Mark Hamill understands Luke perhaps better than almost anyone besides his creator George Lucas after portraying him in the original trilogy. The actor was also aware in the ’80s that Lucas had a plan for more “Star Wars” movies.
“I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well,” Hamill said. “But listen, I still haven’t accepted it completely, but it’s only a movie. I hope people like it. I hope they don’t get upset.”
“Star Wars” fans of across the galaxy have voiced their concerns, disappointments, anger, and sadness over Rian Johnson’s direction on “Last Jedi,” while most critics are applauding his ‘bold new direction’. The film sits at a 92% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but boasts only a 53% audience score.
Beyond preserving the status-quo that most Star Wars fans were probably hoping for, it’s been suggested that Johnson’s job was to also clean the table for the next trilogy he’s been assigned that will ostensibly begin shooting after J.J. Abrams wraps production on the next installment, Episode IX.
Video courtesy of Star Wars Coffee
Listen to the Sci-Fi Christian review of the movie here.
