Mark Hamill Shares His Super Dark Pitch For Luke Skywalker's Backstory in STAR WARS — GeekTyrant

Geek Tyrant

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Mark Hamill recently opened up about an he had for Luke Skywalker's tragic backstory, but it was, perhaps, too dark for a franchise built around hope, redemption, and family-friendly adventure.
In an appearance on the Bullseye with Jesse Thorn podcast, Hamill shared a pitch he had for Luke's past, one that never made it to the big screen. While Hamill respects The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and his storytelling, he didn't quite agree with the choice to make Luke a depressed hermit, hiding away on the isolated planet Ahch-To.
Hamill felt that Luke's descent into exile would have been more compelling if it had been fueled by a personal loss so devastating that it shattered his connection to the Jedi. Hamill shared:
'I thought, 'What could make someone give up a devotion to what is basically a religious entity, to give up being a Jedi?' Well, the love of a woman. So [Luke] falls in love with a woman, he gives up being a Jedi, they have a child together.
'At some point, the child, as a toddler, picks up an unattended lightsaber, pushes the button, and is killed instantly. The wife is so full of grief, she kills herself … but [Rian Johnson] didn't have the time to tell a backstory like that, I'm guessing. He just wanted a brief thing to explain it.'
Whoa… this backstory is certainly tragic, but it veers into territory that might be hard for some Star Wars fans to swallow. Yes, the franchise has grappled with heavy themes, from the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the death of children like the younglings in Revenge of the Sith , but the added layer of a grieving mother taking her own life after the accidental death of her child feels almost too dark for the franchise.
Hamill's proposed backstory would have introduced grief and loss at a level that's borderline unbearable, pushing the limits of what's acceptable within the Star Wars universe. But, Andor pushed hard with these themes, but the franchise wasn't ready for that kind of thing when Lucasfilm was developing The Last Jedi .
The Last Jedi tells a different story. Instead of focusing on a personal tragedy involving love and loss, Luke's exile is driven by his shame and guilt over a momentary lapse in judgment regarding his nephew, Ben Solo.
When Luke sensed the darkness growing within Ben, he briefly considered ending his life to prevent the galaxy from suffering under the rise of another Sith Lord. But Ben woke up just in time to destroy Luke's Jedi temple, leading to Luke's retreat to Ahch-To.
He isn't just abandoning the Jedi Order; he's abandoning the trust of his best friends, Han and Leia, by failing their son. His exile isn't born out of a simple failure; it's a failure with emotional weight. The guilt of having failed his nephew and having watched another Jedi Order collapse weighs heavily on Luke.
As much as some fans criticize Luke's actions in The Last Jedi , there's a layer of emotional complexity here that makes sense, even if it feels jarring at first.
Some fans were upset by the portrayal of Luke as a broken man who gave up on everything he once believed in, but others saw it as a profound, humanizing arc, a man struggling with faith, guilt, and redemption. Johnson's approach is emotionally resonant, focusing on Luke's growth as a character rather than trying to justify his actions with a darker, more complex backstory.
Had Hamill's tragic backstory made it into The Last Jedi , it might have changed the tone of the entire film. The concept of a tragic love story ending in death and despair is undeniably powerful, but it's hard to imagine The Last Jedi taking that plunge into such grim territory without losing some of its balance.
While both versions of Luke's backstory exlore deep emotional wounds, Johnson's choice allows for growth and redemption in the end. What do you think about Hamill's pitch?