‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill has admitted he disagreed with producers over his character’s part in the upcoming eighth instalment, ‘The Last Jedi’.
Mark has played Luke Skywalker in the sci-fi franchise since ‘A New Hope’ in 1977, and the plot of the 2015 reboot ‘The Force Awakens’ focussed on tracking down the missing character.
Although Luke Skywalker appeared only briefly at the end of Episode VII, he’ll have a much larger role in the follow-up, but Mark has admitted he wasn’t totally bowled over by his character’s storyline.
He told ABC News: “When I read [the script], I told [director, Rian Johnson], ‘I fundamentally disagree with virtually everything you’ve decided about my character’.”
Responding in particular to the shocking moment in the ‘Last Jedi’ trailer when Luke says it’s time to “end the Jedi”, Mark revealed: “It was as shocking for me to read what Rian had written as I’m sure it will be for the audience.”
Mark did say he was ready to eat his words, though, adding of his only scene in ‘The Force Awakens’: “I was really wrong about that. I said, ‘When I turn around, the audience is going to hoot and holler because it’s such an obvious cheat’.
Last week, Mark voiced his disappointment at not being able to share screentime with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher one last time in ‘The Force Awakens’, saying it was a missed opportunity for some real “emotional resonance”.
‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ arrives in cinemas at the end of this year, with a spin-off film centring around Han Solo’s early years currently slated for release in May 2018.