It's a great week to be a Star Wars fan. After patiently waiting two years since the release of The Force Awakens, Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi will finally arrive in theaters at the end of the week. The latest sequel will continue the main narrative of the franchise, picking up moments after the final shot of 2015's game changing blockbuster. In particular, the generations of fans are eager to see Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker return to the property, after being largely absent during The Force Awakens. Hamill hasn't been shy about his trepidation regarding the changes being made to his character, and it turns out that he really wishes creator and original director George Lucas was involved in the new trilogy of films. He recently said:
What I wish is that they had been more accepting of his guidance and advice. Because he had an outline for 7, 8, and 9. And it is vastly different to what they have done.
Mark Hamill does certainly make a good point. Star Wars as a franchise simply couldn't exist without George Lucas' vision, which essentially changed the landscape of blockbuster film production forever. But with Disney now in charge of the franchise, Lucas has essentially no input on how his world and beloved characters are used in the movies that seem to be arriving every year.
And George Lucas no doubt had a plan for the current trilogy of films. It was his idea to start the franchise with episodes 4-6, before backtracking for the fairly dismal prequel trilogy. He always meant for the franchise as a whole to end with episodes 7-9, which is currently being directed by the likes of J.J Abrams and Rian Johnson. As Mark Hamill said, the fate of the original characters is currently quite different from anything Lucas originally had crafted for the likes of Luke, Han, and Leia.
That being said, Mark Hamill seems to be embracing his role in the new trilogy. While he's been open about being unsure regarding changes made to Luke's narrative, Hamill doesn't want to seem like a grumpy curmudgeon who is unable to accept change. He spoke to this with Metro.Us, saying:
But then again, I don't want to be an old stick in the mud. There were the originals. There's the prequels. But that's all George. And now we have the next generation. And as far as I can see they are more popular than ever.
And Mark Hamill certainly seems to have his hands full in The Last Jedi. Reviews for the film are in, and it seems like the best scenes are shared between Luke and Rey on Ach-To. It should be interesting to see how Luke challenges throughout the course of the film, and if he's able to return to the Light Side and join The Resistance.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in theaters December 15th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
