Mark Hamill Proposed to J.J. Abrams that Luke Should Witness Han Solo’s Death in The Force Awakens!
While speaking to Fandango’s Erik Davis after the end of The Last Jedi panel at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, Mark Hamill revealed that after he saw the script for The Force Awakens, he proposed to director J.J. Abrams that Luke should witness the death of Han Solo thus reuniting with his old friend at least in some capacity.
Here are Mark’s exact words:
Here’s @HamillHimself on the Luke Skywalker/Han Solo reunion he wanted to see in #TheForceAwakens #SWCO pic.twitter.com/W3H4qiFpf8
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) April 14, 2017
I definitely think that Mark’s idea was not terrible at all, but it definitely wouldn’t have served the story well. The lack of reunion between Han and Luke was something that many old fans had problems with. But we should remember that the new movies are about the new characters. Luke showing up during the conflict at the end would have pushed the movie in a completely different direction.
What do you think? Would you prefer that Luke showed up during the final battle, witnessing the death of his old friend? Or did they do the right call to make him a mystery.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
I get Mark’s point. But if you really think about it Luke didn’t know Obi-Wan Kenobi any more than “20 minutes” either by the time he was cut down.
Not completely true. In A New Hope, Luke talks about Ben Kenobi before the audience is introduced to him on screen. He tells 3PO in the garage that “old Ben lives out beyond the Dune Sea, he’s kind of a strange old hermit.” This implies that Luke has had at least some interaction with Obi-Wan, however limited it may be. And when Ben saves Luke from the Sand People, Luke wakes up from his unconsciousness and instantly recognizes Ben when he sees him – calling him by name. I’m not saying they were best buddies, but they obviously knew each other.
They knew OF each other. But there was no emotional connection, so I’d hardly say that it counts. Rey has heard of Luke Skywalker, but no one is trying to say that the two know each other.
Ben and Luke knew more than just OF one another. Heck, the only reason Ben was on Tatooine was to keep an eye on Luke and protect him from any possible threats. Obviously that’s a strong connection at least for Ben, maybe not for Luke since he was in the dark about the whole situation. Maybe Luke’s very raw Force sensitivity was enough to pick up on this sentiment (that’s a bit of a stretch, I admit – but it’s at least plausible). And remember too, after Luke’s aunt and uncle were killed he had no one left in the galaxy – at least in a “parental” role. Ben was the only friendly, somewhat familiar face he had left. He also had become Luke’s new mentor in the Force and promised to teach Luke to become a Jedi like his father, and then after the duel with Vader he was dead too. Seems to make sense why Luke would be bummed. Now, Rey truly only knew OF Luke Skywalker. In her own words, she “thought he was a myth.” She had never met him face-to-face, never had any sort of interaction with him whatsoever. Ben and Luke had.
Yeah, for like a day. Just saying.
cmom a good couple of hrs at least real time not screen time
As kicker2: get Mark’s point, but if there’s something that TFA did particularly well is to deal with the legacy characters in its just terms. Luke’s presence in the film was a huge problem for the development of VII, cause as explained by Ardnt (first screenwriter onboard), any time they were making him appear, it felt that it would shadow the new characters. The use of Han as the new ObiWan is great, because it’s a huge character but it’s not the center of the saga as the Skywalkers are.
Besides, TFA is the first of three films, and ending with such promise of “more Luke Skywalker on the next film” is what makes TLJ so appealing.
I’ve got to to disagree with your assertion that TFA handled the legacy characters well, as the decisions that Abrams and Kasdan made were unnecessarily damaging to the series. TLJ has the opportunity to make amends for Luke, which is exciting. I’m awaiting it with trepidation though.
On topic Hamill’s right, there should have been a reunion while there was still a chance.
FACT: The Legacy Characters SELL MORE MOVIE TICKETS. TFA shatter Box Office records because LEGIONS of fans wanted to see HAN, LUKE, and LEIA. Rey and Finn are “cute” but they lack the emotional engagement that the “Legacy Characters” can provide. FACT FACT and MORE FACT. If Luke “overshadows” Rey, that means she is NOT ready for that spotlight yet.
I don’t think it’s such a cold and marketing thing. What you call “legacy characters” are in fact the leads of the three previous episodes, and they are alive. I don’t see why someone like Luke, Han or Leia, who carried the destiny of the galaxy, wouldn’t be on this films. It’s like saying that Anakin in the prequels was a ticket seller because he was playing a legacy character.
mark didnt like how jar jar abrahms managed luke appereance, this is like the 4th time he says something similar
Continue with the Butthurt, Jar Jar’s film made over 2 billion world wide and is accepted by a majority of the fans as fun and welcome addition to the Star Wars Universe.
Two years later and you guys are still raging, I love it.
And the name fits like always.
The name is meant to be ironic. I am one of the most well informed people you will ever meet. The name is meant to prompt comments like yours from ignorant people. Much like yourself.
My statement is factual. Please attempt to prove otherwise Timmeh.
Dude, there are more than 10 grammatical errors in this one sentence. I’m not trying to be a grammar Nazi, but you’re being judged.
I appreciate the choices made regarding Luke in ep7. Only thing I’m sad about is there will be no Big Three On Screen Together Again moment for one last time..
These three characters were the original trilogy, to have not seen them on screen together again was a mistake. Mark with his usual affable charm calls it a missed opportunity and he is right.
Granted, I was a bit bummed about not seeing them reunited. But there’s something to say for not giving everyone what they want. Life isn’t like that. And movies should reflect real life in the most important ways. The Force Awakens delivered. I got most of what I wanted, but not everything. And I sort of like the nuanced meaning of that.
Really, dude?
For a film that was created from the ground up to placate fanboys, this gets a pass?
TFA was an enjoyable experience, but there were some severe mistakes and missed opportunities, especially in the second half.
Hamill is right to take them to task for it.
Yeah, really.
I can’t IMAGINE how exciting this film would have been if LUKE and HAN….alongside their NEW buddies REY and FINN…. had INVADED StarKiller Base TOGETHER. Fans would have been WEEPING with joy at that awesomeness.
It’s entertainment not real life. I want to see and get what I WANT.
It doesn’t work like that
Yes it does. It’s entertainment. This isn’t a religion or the Bible. Star Wars is whatever the writers make it — and if they are not satisfying the fanbase, then they aren’t doing a very good job LOL
No, it doesn’t. And yes, it’s entertainment. But you’re sort of running with this idea that the fanbase has some sort of homogenous idea of what it wants. I consider myself a pretty serious Star Wars fan and what I wanted in many ways was quite different from some of the drivel the so-called fanbase was clamouring for.
And really, feature films aren’t customized, made-to-order projects. If you’re walking out of a movie disappointed because the filmmaker failed to meet every one of your expectations, then you’re doing it wrong. Art isn’t like that. It’s never been like that. It should never be like that.
what he said!
you miss the point of the Star Wars films then. The films ARE about something and the reflect real life issues, ideas, problems etc.
Well, good luck with that.
Emotionally, it would’ve packed a mighty punch, but – even without considering the obvious problems (overshadowing the new characters, making TFA more about Luke’s comeback than about Rey’s story, etc.) storywise, it would’ve been a mess and we’d be dealing with legion of ‘fans’ foaming that “Luke didn’t save Han? Is Luke such a failure?” and blablabla, all that crap.
Exactly.
If he showed up in the final act as Hamill suggested, here, and on TLJ panel, it wouldn’t have overshadowed anybody.
Rey, Finn and Poe, would all get to have their arcs, with no stepping on toes.
Questions like “Luke didn’t save Han?” and “Is Luke such a failure?” already exist, BECAUSE he didn’t show up.
If we actually saw him make an effort, those questions wouldn’t exist.
No, then the fickle fanboys would just call Luke a weak failure. There’s no pleasing the fans.
Quite the contrary, I’m afraid: you have him on the finale, he witness KR murdering Han… then what? Even if you can somehow justify the fact that he only witness the heinous act and – for some reason – is unable to stop it… where do you go, from there? Because, at that point, TFA final duel has to be Luke vs. Kylo Ren, or else it doesn’t make sense that Luke is there. But if you have Luke, instead of Finn and Rey, fighting Kylo at the end – and assuming you can write a way for them to fight without Luke killing him – the new characters are no longer the heroes and Luke gets the climax. Also, Poe becomes the only one of the new characters to do something meaningful in the ending.
But wait, there’s more: “Luke witness a Dark Side user killing a friend” would be a very strong echo from ANH, which causes two problems – first being that it would’ve give even more ammo to the “TFA is a ANH rehash” crowd; the second being that it would make no sense in terms of TFA structure where the 1st act mirrors ANH, the 2nd act mirrors TESB and the 3rd act mirrors RotJ but now you’d have a key element from ANH in the 3rd act.
Look, there’s a reason why actors act and writers write – I’m not saying that one can’t do both, obviously, but generally speaking those are two very different mindset. Yes, actors generally come up with little backstories and details about their characters, but they don’t have to worry about making that stuff works in terms of writing.
I enjoy VII, but still feel its lacking in the last act. We should of got a reunion, Han and Luke could of gone to Starkiller, with some help off Luke sneaking around all Kenobi style that would of fitted right in. Then for whatever reason they get separated, and we as fans might of thought Luke was going to die like Obi-wan on the 1st Death Star, but its twisted so its Han. In the chaos Rey and Finn still fight Kylo, with Luke maybe saving them at the end, but the heroes flee before it goes supernova so Luke and Kylo don’t get the showdown. Something along those lines. Job done.
AMAZING ANALYSIS AND BETTER THAN THE ACTUAL FILM!!!!!!
This is PERFECTION. You JUST made the Force Awakens a PERFECT movie.
Well I still feel ‘the quest to find Luke’ was completely forgotten about for the most part in the final act. IMO they dropped the ball and all the outcry on Luke being sooooo powerful that Han wouldn’t of been killed is rubbish, the fan should look at Yoda and Obi-wan without rose tinted glasses. Strong in the force, but not all powerful.
They have a story to tell. While seeing the original three together in some capacity may have been amazing… it just didn’t work. Now sure Leia hugging Chewy would have been perfect… so some mistakes were certainly made.
How can you say “it just didn’t work”? If the writers were unable to reunite the Big 3, that’s their FAILURE.
That’s their… choice. One can not fail what they do not attempt 😛
No, it’s just an example of the writers putting story ahead of fan service. It may be a failure in your eyes, but that’s a completely subjective judgment. For me, I’m happy with the fact that the last time we see them all together, it’s in the celebratory moment after the destruction of the second Death Star.
But yeah, it’s not a failure.
To keep Luke for ep8 is the best decision they could have made. Cause now, we’re hungry for some Luke and it keeps the story interesting.
That’s if they deliver with him and don’t bastardize his character like I have a bad feeling they are going to based off of hamill’s most recent remarks on the film
For me, the main plot line of A New Hope was Luke’s journey to himself. In contrast, TFA was Rey’s journey to Luke. TFA’s ending was perfect as it was.
Luke showing up out of the blue would’ve been worse.
Biggest disappointment was not seeing Han and Luke reunite. JJ screwed up in all sort she of ways with hat film when he hijacked the scriptwriting process.
Aaaaaaand, you’re wrong.
Winning retort of the day!
Still better than the opening statement.
You know, it was a tough call. As a Star Wars fan, yes I’m disappointed that we didn’t (and never will) get to see our 3 favorite leads reunite in the ST. That being said, I understand the writers’ contention that Luke showing up earlier in the movie shifted focus off of everyone else and sort of threw a monkey wrench into the flow of the story. Ultimately, we probably got what worked best in the interest of storytelling, but not what we would have liked to have seen as fans. I can accept it.
Who cares if Luke’s presence distracts from the newbies? If Luke can overshadow them, then they are NOT ready for that spotlight 🙂
They have to have time to be in the spotlight in the first place; to grow and develop. Luke would have gotten in the way of that.
B/c that’s not the story they were telling. You would know if you were an artist.
He would know if he had multiple brain cells….
Right on! The ST is in the wrong hands right now, they contradict themselves. They claim “we saved Luke for the end of the film b/c he overshadowed the newbs because that made the audience focus on luke and not care what they were doing” well Disney what does that tell you?! it says the audience wants Luke and more on the OT cast but noooo! Let’s separate them all and kill them off.
The plot of the movie was about the map to find Luke Skywalker. Him just showing up on his own would have defeated the entire plot of the movie.
Then you adjust the plotline so it’s not about a Map. LOL
And fuck up the entire movie just so some fanboys get Luke earlier… good plan *eyeroll*
Umm yeah pretty much fuck that movie, I’d rather a movie like SW serve the hardcore fans instead of the average movie going derp such as yourself. SW is a cultural phenomenon that impacted many people’s lives growing up it’s really disrespectful for Disney to pass the torch to a new cast so poorly. I would be perfectly fine with a focus on a new cast if it was an entirely new timeline not involving the OT character. That’s why rouge one was so great. However I’m more interested to find out what’s become of Luke post Rotj instead of Kathleen Kennedy’s femanazi Luke rip off Rey’s boring story.
I think what we’re trying to say here is the plot of the movie was disappointed as a whole. Finding skywalker and separating him from the OT cast was a mistake because it’s been since 83 since we’ve seen them together. And thanks to Disney we won’t again and we get new boring politically correct characters force fed down our throat instead
Part of me wishes that there had been a (mysterious) cut-away to Luke when Han was killed, right after Leia reacted.
Which would kind of destroy the entire end of the movie but.. ok..
I get the love for Hamill and Luke but this isn’t just about him. THe story needs to work properly and it needs to focus on the leads, not a side character
Idgaf about the leads they are lame we’ve waited years to see Luke, I care more about the “side character”
What a MISSED OPPORTUNITY here! Luke showing up and seeing Han’s death would have been the MOST emotionally-compelling moment perhaps EVER in a Star Wars Film. The plot could have been EASILY adjusted to not be about “The Map to Luke”. EASY fix. SHAMEFUL that they did not take Hamill’s advice.
gag me
He’s right. This was just crappy story telling. What they should have done is reunited them for EP8 and then have the bad guys kill off Han etc during the middle of those movies to up the stakes and give it some emotional gravitas
Maybe that would have worked, but do we know for sure Harrison Ford would have wanted to do another Star Wars film? Many seem to believe he only wanted to do one more and be done with it. I have no idea if that’s true or not, but that’s been a persistent theory.
They could have filmed his scenes ahead of time. I mean, not that I buy the whole “EPVII is about the map to Luke” thing. That part of the movie could have been resolved earlier. Nothing they do at starkiller base has any effect on why R2D2 should have awoken later.
EPVII was a real mess 🙁 I hope they will redeem themselves with the next one. Rogue One was a step in the right direction.
How is it crappy storytelling to focus on the main characters instead of side characters. Thsi isn’t the original trilogy, Luke is not the main character. All that would do is make fan service. The entire movie was about finding Luke. If he showed up out of nowhere the entire movie plot becomes pointless.
Talk about crappy story telling…
It’s not just a single movie, it’s part of a series. The movie is essentially unwatchable if you didn’t have any background knowledge. Neither the first order, the rules by which this universe functions or even the nature of the force are explained. We’re not given backstory to any of the major characters except for Finn. We don’t know the past of Rey, Kylo, Snoke, Hux… anyone really. So the point about “focusing on the main characters” is moot.
The whole “search for Luke Skywalker” aspect barely affects the plot at all. They don’t go searching for clues, learning about the universe in the process (like “Da Vinci Code”, where the reader learns about the scenario together with the main characters and slowly puzzles together a backstory while the main story pushes forward).
When Rey finally reaches Luke, it doesn’t resolve anything either, it just cuts to black.
The whole movie is a string of things that happen for no apparent reason. Someone appears out of nowhere because the plot requires them to. Before any kind of dialogue can unfold, usually a chase or fight scene starts (opening scene, Rey and Finn on Jakku, Rey and Finn captured by Solo, then interrupted by pirates, then interrupted by crappy cgi monsters. Maz Kanata scene with Rey is interrupted by attack and so on.) It’s the laziest form of storytelling.
TFA is by far the worst Star Wars movie. It’s the worst piece of garbage to ever bear the logo (aside from the holiday special). They had a perfect sequel trilogy by Timothy Zahn they could have adapted. Disney messed up. At least they got things right with Rogue One. So there’s hope for EP8
I see.. so you prefer the A New Hope way that didn’t explain the empire, rebellion, who the fuck the emperor was or why a sensate got dissolved or what the heck the clone wars were or hardly explained anything about the force or why luke could so quickly use it to destoy the death star or why the movie left Vader’s fate unresolved or….
Most of that wasn’t needed, because ANH had a solid structure with full character arcs for every character.
There isn’t much use of the force in the movie except Vader choking someone, Kenobi cheating death and Luke blowing up the Death Star.
Kenobi adequately explains the force as a mythical power (instinct, 6th sense, call it what you will). Kenobi more than adequately explains what the force is.
Vader’s fate is resolved at the end of the film. He is defeated. Every single major character in ANH has a complete arc that interacts with the meta story.
The scale of the universe gradually expands. We start on a ship, then the robots wander the desert, giving us most of the back story. We are introduced to our main character on a farm, then Kenobi begins giving some backstory. We head to a city and finally to space. We explore our antagonists, our heroes band together, one of them sacrifices himself before we go into the final confrontation. The main antagonist dies, the other hurls off into space, never to be seen again. The heroes unite for a celebration.
That’s a perfect story structure. It’s 100% self contained while opening up the universe for more stories to be told.
TFA starts great but falls apart the moment they head into space. They focus of the movie changes around all the time. It starts out about the map, then after the 35 minute mark the map no longer matters and the focus becomes saving Rey and blowing up the base. At the very end the map is completed in a throwaway scene by a robot we know nothing about. – bad structure.
Worse, our main characters barely have time to interact. The first dynamic, Poe and Finn is broken up after the landing. Rey and Finn are broken up after Rey’s capture.
Han and Rey’s relationship starts promising, then goes nowhere. Maz Kanata disappears after one scene (Maz and Han serve to replace Kenobi and should have been one character. Named Han.)
Han and Finn never really have much of a dynamic together. Han dies,
In ANH the characters are in constant interaction and we get to explore their personalities as they bounce off each other. TFA doesn’t give its characters much time to do that. Which is why people complain about the characters being one dimensional. The only one with a real arc is Finn. And his story isn’t even resolved. Neither is Rey’s.
The movie is unfocused, loses the plot halfway through, the characters are mostly one dimensional (except Finn) and the meta story just happens without much interaction with the heroes. Never mind that it sucks as a sequel.
Here’s how it should have gone:
Same beginning. First Order are imperial remnants led by Thrawn who holds an uneasy alliance with the mysterious Snoke and his pupil Kylo Ren.
Instead of meeting Han Solo aboard a weird giant ship hauling tentacle monsters (so out of character), he arrives with a Rebel / New Republic troop on Jakku because he is also searching for Poe and the droid. A race with with imperials as to who gets the map first. Rey and Finn rescue Han in the nick of time as his troop taken down and they narrowly escape in the Falcon. Solo gives backstory and with BB8’s map they find Luke Skywalker. Han brings Rey along because of *ominous backstory* and because *will of the force*. Luke and Han are reunited, we get more backstory and some story about what went wrong over the years. Luke introduces us to the force (no need for Kanata). But even as Finn reveals that the imperals are working on some horrific new scheme (sending cloaked asteroids onto the capital or something), Luke wants no part of war anymore until the bad guys show up, having tracked a chip implanted into Finn. Kylo once again makes an appearance, holds Han hostage to force Luke to come quietly. We learn Kylo is Han’s son. Han sacrifices himself so the others can escape. Kylo lunges at Rey and she unexpectedly injures him with Luke’s saber. Luke recognizes her potential, takes down the stormtroopers while an injured Kylo limps back to his ship. Luke, Rey and Finn escape, which forces Thrawn to launch is attack earlier than he wanted. We get a final battle so the movie can have more explosions and through much heroics the doomsday attack is averted. Could have them land on the cloaked asteroid and duke it out with a lightsaber to get to the cloaking device, have a battle over a hidden shipyard containing the emperor’s Sovereign class prototype warship or an ancient Jedi place holding an important force artifact which can’t fall into the hands of Snoke. Endless possibilities and all of them more interesting than another death star trench battle with side character Poe (another things ANH did right, it had the main character blow up the super weapon).
Now that would have been a good sequel. Would have given each character a moment to shine, would have reunited Luke and Han and given a more plausible antagonist and a less random sequence of events.
Uh buddy the force awakens was pretty much a lame rip off carbon copy of ANH thanks to gay gay Abrams
This just pissed me off. I shouldn’t have seen this.
I despise this “focus” on new characters trumping the importance of Luke Skywalker…. So far I’m really disliking the direction the Sequel trilogy is heading. Finn and Poe are ok to me at best, Rey is bland and boring to me and Kylo is the only character I’m remotely interested in. That walking garbage can phasma and cry baby hux are terrible period… Rogue one was a masterpiece however I feel the sequel trilogy is going to be a disaster piece if they screw Luke over again.