The Last Jedi Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker (VIII)

[Brother Jack]

I get the intention behind it, but I think the saber toss over the shoulder was a mistake. You would have gotten the same thing if he just dropped it where it was and walked away. Tossing it over his shoulder played too comedically for what was such a meaningful moment.

 

[BatLobster]

Honestly the only real problem with having that moment play a bit comedic is the fact that it was following up on a cliffhanger with a 2 year build-up. But for future generations watching these movies, that's not an issue. It's just what happens next, and we've seen old, exiled Jedi masters act eccentric before so it's not really off-brand humor either.

If you take way the meta aspect and just look at it from a character perspective, with that toss Luke is basically saying "Oh, so you found my old saber and you found me, so now I'm supposed to train you right? Yeah, no thanks kid, now scram." That moment is meant to shatter the illusions Rey had about Luke and set the tone for the disappointment she's going to go through.

From a hero's journey perspective, it's Luke's refusal of the call. To me the moment that happened it signaled that Luke is going to have a character arc in the film and not 'just' be the sage archetype.

I can totally understand having an issue with how that was executed, but for me...the moment I'm trying to argue that he should've dropped it, or thrown it 'differently', it feels a lot like nitpicking and that's just not a hill I'd be willing to die on if I wanted to criticize this film.

 

[Adhesive Boy]

Hey guys, here is a nice quote from Senor Hamill:



So, can we stop saying Mark Hamill hates the movie now?

I'd also regret voicing my negative opinions in public if it got me chewed out by important people at Lucasfilm and Disney.

 

[Agent Orange]

Mark Hamill has been voicing his concerns about how Luke Skywalker is portrayed since 1979/1980. This isn't new for him. He constantly butted heads with Kershner and wanted Luke to turn to the dark side with his sister redeeming him and Vader. His ideas are awful and are the very definition of fan-fiction. His latest had Luke intervening on Starkiller base, saving Rey and Finn. zzzzz

(I was glad to see him admit that his ideas were bad in that new tweet.)

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Mark Hamill has been voicing his concerns about how Luke Skywalker is portrayed since 1979/1980. This isn't new for him. He constantly butted heads with Kershner and wanted Luke to turn to the dark side with his sister redeeming him and Vader. His ideas are awful and are the very definition of fan-fiction. His latest had Luke intervening on Starkiller base, saving Rey and Finn. zzzzz

(I was glad to see him admit that his ideas were bad in that new tweet.)

Mark has always publicly been humble about his suggestions for his character in Star Wars. He's never said he was the definitive authority on Luke, and as you noted has often stated there is a reason he's not a screen writer.

 

[danoyse]

I'd also regret voicing my negative opinions in public if it got me chewed out by important people at Lucasfilm and Disney.

Especially when your “negative opinions” are being taken out of context by people who are cherry-picking them to fit their own narrative because they didn’t like a movie.

 

[Agent Orange]

Mark has always publicly been humble about his suggestions for his character in Star Wars. He's never said he was the definitive authority on Luke, and as you noted has often stated there is a reason he's not a screen writer.

It's frustrating to me that people are claiming that he's been asked to backtrack on his comments. If Disney was after him then he would have been asked to retract his comments months ago. I dig that he's so fun and candid and I'm sure Disney likes it too.

The Luke in exile angst is funny because I always assumed that he ran away. Look at the disgust on Han's face when asked if he knew Luke "Yeah, I knew him. I knew Luke." You get the sense that he never really forgave Luke for what happened. All of these things that fans are upset about were right there in the last film. Jedi Master or not (not really, as he was never properly trained or prepared for the burden) it was clear to me that Luke retreated inwards. He was ashamed to face Han and Leia. It's another element that makes Luke and Leia's reunion so powerful.

 

[danoyse]

It's frustrating to me that people are claiming that he's been asked to backtrack on his comments. If Disney was after him then he would have been asked to retract his comments months ago. I dig that he's so fun and candid and I'm sure Disney likes it too.

The Luke in exile angst is funny because I always assumed that he ran away. Look at the disgust on Han's face when asked if he knew Luke "Yeah, I knew him. I knew Luke." You get the sense that he never really forgave Luke for what happened. All of these things that fans are upset about were right there in the last film. Jedi Master or not (not really, as he was never properly trained or prepared for the burden) it was clear to me that Luke retreated inwards. He was ashamed to face Han and Leia.

Agreed. Especially the part about Han, there seemed to be a lot of unfinished business between them over what happened.

I always assumed Luke would be messed up in this movie, because he was carrying the weight of all that went wrong with Ben. That's a lot to carry. He didn't look too happy to be found at the end of TFA.

I was surprised that so many people were expecting something different.

 

[Mjölnir]

I didn't get any anger or resentment from Harrison's portrayal at all and I think he's definitely nuanced enough as an actor to get that across if he wanted to.

Many people that didn't like it were expecting Luke to be in a weird place, the problem wasn't where he was but the reasons behind it and how it fits with the OT. I'm sure there were some that just expected something vastly different but I'm so regularly seeing people say "I'm surprised that many people think X" when most complaints have been Y.

 

[Adhesive Boy]

Except... People have made that claim seriously. So... Yeah.

I doubt they use joking smileys if so, and I wouldn't care either way. It's not like you can know which is right or wrong anyway so no reason to be very serious about it to me.

In fact the only quote I saw didn't contradict his statements about that he doesn't think that's Luke Skywalker, it just said that he think the movie turned out great. Nothing mutually exclusive there.

 

[TheVileOne]

It's not hard to believe Kathleen Kennedy or his manager gave Hamill a call and told him to make a public statement or tweet. That viral video clearly got their attention and got pulled.

 

[Aximili86]

Exactly. Hamill also had creative differences with Kershner about Luke's direction in TESB.

"George is more technical and he doesn’t really want to talk about motivation and backstory and that kind of thing. Kershner was much more of an actor’s director and we were both very headstrong and opinionated. So I think what he’s referring to is that we butted heads a couple of times over interpretation or whatever it was. And I’d say, ‘Well, fine. I’ll do it your way, but I’m not happy about it and I think you’re wrong.’ But I loved him and I think he appreciated the fact that I was opinionated and engaged, because that’s the relationship of a director and an actor, to collaborate like that.”

And that quote is, hilariously, exactly the same ****ing thing he's been saying about Rian and TLJ.

Only, in some respects, it's even less severe because he says he's come around to thinking it was the right move after the fact. Nothing in that quote says he thinks he was wrong over the Kershner stuff in the end (much as he liked him as a person), though he probably does too.

The "Mark doesn't like what's been done with Luke in TLJ" stuff only holds up if you conveniently ignore 50% of what he's said on the matter. You know, basic scrutiny.

Of course he'd be shocked and a little unsure/tentative upon first reading the script, it's a pretty ballsy script. He came around on it during filming though! It's hilarious how difficult that apparently is to understand for this segment of the fanbase.

 

[Agent Orange]

Agreed. Especially the part about Han, there seemed to be a lot of unfinished business between them over what happened.

I always assumed Luke would be messed up in this movie, because he was carrying the weight of all that went wrong with Ben. That's a lot to carry. He didn't look too happy to be found at the end of TFA.

I was surprised that so many people were expecting something different.

Lor San Tekka, Max von Sydow's character, is a legendary explorer/stellar cartographer. Force Awakens doesn't spell it out enough but he's been on a mission to find Ahch-To for a long time. I'm sure that Leia had her suspicions as well.

 

[Agent Orange]

It's not hard to believe Kathleen Kennedy or his manager gave Hamill a call and told him to make a public statement or tweet. That viral video clearly got their attention and got pulled.

Hamill's definitely been on a mission to purge the negativity these past few days. Good for him. Regardless what one thinks of the movie, he clearly likes Rian, and the vitriol needs to stop.

 

[TheVileOne]

Hamill's definitely been on a mission to purge the negativity these past few days. Good for him. Regardless what one thinks of the movie, he clearly likes Rian, and the vitriol needs to stop.

Vitriol maybe but not criticism.

 

[Agent Orange]

Vitriol maybe but not criticism.

He just shared a funny "Which character are you in The Last Jedi?" thing on Facebook.

"SPOILER ALERT-I got Luke Skywalker! #NoSith | Quiz: Which Star Wars: The Last Jedi Character Are You? |"

The "No you're not!" and "Jake Skywalker!" responses are beginning to lessen so it's working (kinda). They're still there.

 

[TheVileOne]

He could always delete his Twitter.

 

[sueb1863]

Mark loves Twitter so he's not going to delete his account.

He can try to walk back his comments all he wants to, but there will always be fans who insist that he's only saying what Disney told him to say and that he secretly hates TLJ just like they do, even if he really doesn't.

As for Empire's financial success, I seem to recall that it was one of only two movies released that summer that made money. The other movie was "Airplane!".

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Do you guys think we will ever get a

Spoiler

projected luke

figure?

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Do you guys think we will ever get a

Spoiler

projected luke

figure?

Is the Space Pope Reptilian?

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Is the Space Pope Reptilian?

 

[TheVileOne]

It's frustrating to me that people are claiming that he's been asked to backtrack on his comments. If Disney was after him then he would have been asked to retract his comments months ago. I dig that he's so fun and candid and I'm sure Disney likes it too.

The Luke in exile angst is funny because I always assumed that he ran away. Look at the disgust on Han's face when asked if he knew Luke "Yeah, I knew him. I knew Luke." You get the sense that he never really forgave Luke for what happened. All of these things that fans are upset about were right there in the last film. Jedi Master or not (not really, as he was never properly trained or prepared for the burden) it was clear to me that Luke retreated inwards. He was ashamed to face Han and Leia. It's another element that makes Luke and Leia's reunion so powerful.

Why does it frustrate you? It's not that hard to believe.

 

[danoyse]

He just tweeted that Lucasfilm and Disney have never complained about his Twitter account:

https://***********/hamillhimself/status/946887382858547200

To be honest, I think if Disney was legitimately concerned about his social media presence, they probably would have told him awhile ago to ease up on the political posts. Instead, he was going after Ted Cruz on opening weekend.

 

[Mjölnir]

I don't think him having his personal opinions on stuff on his twitter and him basically badmouthing their film has even close to similar relevance to Lucasfilm and Disney.

I'm not saying anything about what has or has not happened,, I just don't see that as a very equal weight comparison as only one thing directly affects the marketing of the thing they want to make money on.

 

[C. Lee]

He just tweeted that Lucasfilm and Disney have never complained about his Twitter account:

https://***********/hamillhimself/status/946887382858547200

To be honest, I think if Disney was legitimately concerned about his social media presence, they probably would have told him awhile ago to ease up on the political posts. Instead, he was going after Ted Cruz on opening weekend.

That's funny.