Mark Hamill Says He First Objected to George Lucas’ ‘Star Wars’ Happy Ending
Zack Sharf
During a recent interview on SiriusXM’s “EW Live” podcast to promote his guest appearance on “What We Do in the Shadows,” Mark Hamill revealed that he originally disagreed with George Lucas over the ending of the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Hamill took issue with “Return of the Jedi” tying up loose ends in a happy fashion and his character, Luke Skywalker, resisting a jump to the Dark Side. Hamill believed the franchise should continue its darker trajectory as seen in “Empire Strikes Back,” but Lucas was adamant “Star Wars” appeal to children and end on a positive note.
“I remember complaining to George [Lucas] about something in ‘Return of the Jedi,’” Hamill told EW. “And I said, ‘It’s so predictable and pat,’ and he said, ‘Mark, don’t forget. These things were made for children.’ His original intention was to make movies for, you know, kids! Adolescents and younger. And we’re bringing our adult sensibilities to it and that’s where we go wrong. He’s the man. He knows what he wants, and I realized he was right. He said, ‘All fairy tales get tied up neatly at the end.’ Because I thought after ‘Empire’ we should really go crazy as possible with the last one, but there’s a reason why George is where he is and I’m where I am.”
Hamill said that as he was reading the “Return of the Jedi” script for the first time he was convinced Luke would embrace the Dark Side and was a bit disappointed when the character remained a hero. The actor said, “Well, I thought I was turning evil. Because I was wearing all black. I thought I would go to the dark side in the last one. And, of course, you have to redeem yourself. But that movie is the way I felt it was going with the preceding episode, but every actor wants to play their own evil twin.”
Hamill would go on to reprise the character of Luke Skywalker in the most recent “Star Wars” trilogy, which ended last December with “The Rise of Skywalker.” The actor shared thoughts earlier this week about the future of “Star Wars.” According to Hamill, the television series “The Mandalorian” is the smartest path forward for “Star Wars” has it prioritizes characters over the over-the-top VFX spectacle of a movie.
