Mark Hamill Had A Much Darker Idea For Luke Skywalker's Star Wars: The Last Jedi Backstory

"Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi" sees Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) living on an isolated island on the planet Ahch-To. There, he spends his days milking thala-sirens and hiding from the rest of the galaxy far, far away. This version of Luke isn't the bold, young hero who dreams of adventure in "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope," either — he's a cranky old man who has abandoned the Resistance and wants to be left alone. It's clear that this once-great Jedi is tormented and troubled, but if Hamill had his way, the character would have had an even darker backstory.

In an interview with "Bullseye with Jesse Thorn," Hamill explained that he wanted Luke to find romance and start a family — only to have it stripped away from him in a manner that seems more suited to a horror movie. As he put it:

"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, he 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."

Despite pitching such a brutal backstory for Luke, Hamill was initially against the idea of the character going off the grid. In short, he believes that it went against everything the Jedi stood for, which led to some disagreements with writer-director Rian Johnson.

Mark Hamill doesn't seem like the biggest fan of "The Last Jedi." In fact, some folks believe that he dislikes the film due to some comments he made following its release, in which he took aim at the direction of his character. While speaking to ComicBook around the time of the movie's release in 2017, Hamill explained that Luke Skywalker would never have abandoned the Resistance, arguing it goes against the Jedi way:

"I said to Rian, 'Jedis don't give up.' I mean, even if [Luke] had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake, he would try to right that wrong, so right there, we had a fundamental difference. But it's not my story anymore, it's somebody else's story, and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective. That's the crux of my problem. Luke would never say that. I'm sorry."

With that in mind, Hamill's pitch to have Luke lose his family makes more sense. If there is one thing that can force people to abandon their beliefs and seek solitude, it's grief — especially when it pertains to their closest loved ones. Still, Rian Johnson is proud of "The Last Jedi" ... even if Hamill has some issues with how the story was tackled.