Most fans can pinpoint when Star Wars: The Last Jedi became a divisive film. Some say it was when Leia Organa used the Force for the first time ever to get to safety, while others pinpoint Finn and Rose's parts, which many viewers felt was filler. However, the biggest turning point had to be the reveal that Luke Skywalker cut himself off from everyone he loved so that he could die alone.
Luke's actor Mark Hamill had been critical about the character's portrayal before, though he felt that the finished product changed his mind. Hamill elaborated his feelings about Luke during the South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) after a documentary about the film was shown to audiences.
"When you get down to it, it's not Mark Hamill in a blockbuster film. It's Luke. I had to do a wild reimagining of the character. Like, hey, what happened between the last one and this one, where the most hopeful man in the galaxy becomes a cranky old suicidal man telling people to get off his lawn?
Hamill was pressed by fans about his public dismissals of Luke's portrayal, which the actor did not shy away from. The veteran Star Wars actor even admitted to coming up with his own backstories on how he "picked the new Hitler to be a new hope" and how he cut off all communication with his sister.
"It's not distaste at all. It just wasn't a Luke I understood."
In the end, Hamill admitted that the character they wanted him to play as was a completely radical change from the one he portrayed before. "Here I am going home again," he stated, "but it was a house I didn't recognize at all."
After apologizing for letting his feelings known to the public before the film came out, he complimented The Last Jedi and called it the most complex installment in the Star Wars franchise. Despite a few odd moments, it did open up the universe to even more possibilities and made the Force much more interesting as well.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits digital March 13, and Blu-Ray on March 27.
Via Ars Technica
Read:Star Wars The Last Jedi: Watch Mark Hamill Get Emotional as He's Reunited with Frank Oz
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