It’s been eight long years since The Last Jedi hit theaters, but time hasn’t dimmed its ability to infuriate a certain slice of the Star Wars fandom. Then, like now, they’re incandescent with rage that Mark Hamill‘s Luke Skywalker didn’t become a glittering icon of the Republic, but instead a grumpy, blue-milk swigging hermit living on a planet inhabited by cute little space creatures.
As per The Last Jedi, Luke went into seclusion after considering murdering Ben Solo, who was in danger of turning to the dark side. That, ironically, actually turned Solo to the dark side, resulting in the destruction of Luke’s temple and the murder of all his students.
But Mark Hamill came up with a much crazier (and darker) backstory for himself when playing the role. Speaking on the Bullseye with Jesse Thorn show, he discussed his role in the new Stephen King drama The Life of Chuck, his work as the Joker in the Batman animated shows and, of course, Star Wars.
The Last Jedi inevitably came up, which is when Hamill launched into his personal head canon:
“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.”
That’s… something all right. The idea that we could have had a flashback scene with Luke’s adorable toddler ambling about his house, grabbing a lightsaber, and accidentally killing themselves with it sounds so dark it’s actually kind of amusing. And, of course, the cherry on top is his depressed wife taking her own life. Fair enough, Luke, I guess who could blame you for abandoning civilization to live in a damp hut after that.
“What a terrible idea”
Fans are extremely relieved this didn’t happen. Most assume Luke’s wife would have been fan-favorite character Mara Jade, so seeing her unceremoniously die in a flashback would have caused conniptions. And, taken as a whole, this whole idea just seems needlessly tragic and extremely un-Star Wars-y
The responses are… let’s go with uncharitable: “Easily one of the dumbest takes I’ve ever heard. There’s a reason he’s not a writer”, “Star Wars with a gun control allegory”, and pointing out that this makes Luke look extremely irresponsible. Or, in conclusion: “Mark, let’s just give it a rest talking about Last Jedi.”
Then again, to be fair, it’s definitely a cut above anything to do with The Rise of Skywalker, so far from the worst Star Wars idea I’ve ever heard.
