Star Wars is arguably the biggest franchise in film history. And because George Lucas' beloved space opera has so many fans, each new blockbuster is watched with microscopic precision, and is often harshly judged by the generations of moviegoers. This was especially obvious with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as director Rian Johnson purposefully subverted fan expectations, and threw the iconic group of characters through a series of surprising plot twists. This includes the long awaited return of Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker, who was a jaded former Jedi Master exiling himself to Ach-To. It's a choice that many fans didn't understand, and it seems that Hamill himself is still a bit confused by some of his character's actions. He recently responded to a fan on Twitter who was baffled by Luke's isolation, posting:
Well, that was honest. While Mark Hamill has definitely been one of The Last Jedi's biggest cheerleaders, he has also been honest about his original surprise and trepidation when reading Luke's scenes. And some of these questions were apparently never answered, per his most recent Tweet.
During The Force Awakens' iconic opening crawl, we learn that Luke Skywalker had vanished, and that General Leia was trying desperately to find her brother. Unfortunately Kylo Ren is doing the same, but luckily she found his location and Rey eventually made her way to Ach-To to bring him back to The Resistance, presumably as her Jedi Master. But he rejects her, throwing his lightsaber over his shoulder in a move that set The Last Jedi's unexpected tone. Throughout the course of The Last Jedi, we learn about his fatal mistake with Kylo Ren, and the events that lead to Adam Driver's character falling to the dark side. But was that really enough to get Luke to completely give up on the Light Side, The Force, and The Jedi way?
Throughout The Last Jedi, we see three different version of the night Kylo Ren and his uncle clashed in the Jedi Temple, ultimately resulting in the new villain slaying Luke's apprentices and descent into darkness. And while Luke made a serious mistake in momentarily letting the Dark Side influence him, the guy has also saved the galaxy on multiple occasions. So both the fans and Mark Hamill himself don't necessarily understand why it drove him to completely shut down and hide from his friends and family.
In the end, Luke did get an emotional and epic movie in The Last Jedi, and fans can luckily see him return in some capacity in J.J. Abrams' Episode IX. That movie will arrive on December 20th, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
