Star Wars: The Last Jedi is finally – finally! – screening across theaters near and far, and it certainly hasn’t taken long for the Lucasfilm sequel to make a huge dent at the global box office. That being said, those numbers aren’t exactly translating into universal love for the latest chapter in the Skywalker saga. In fact, Episode VIII is practically causing a war between two sides of the fandom.
While half love the subversive and shocking pic, the other half hate it for betraying everything we know about the franchise so far. In particular, some would say the disillusioned, depressed portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the film doesn’t gel with the character from the original trilogy. Surprisingly, one of the people who feel this way is Mark Hamill himself. Or at least, he did.
Upon first reading the script, Hamill had some problems with it, as revealed in an interview with The New York Times in October, in which he explained how his understandable attachment to Luke left him shocked at his situation in The Last Jedi.
“That’s the hard part. You don’t want to admit how possessive you’ve become. There are times where you go, ‘Really? That’s what they think of Luke? I’m not only in disagreement – I’m insulted.’ But that’s the process and you thrash it all out.”
It was a bold choice for Johnson and Co. to make, to take the character down the path that they did, but it’s arguably the right one – even if a vocal minority of fans say otherwise. Plus, there’s always the possibility that Luke could return as a Force ghost. But I digress.
Now, after having seen the film, Hamill is changing is tune. Taking to Twitter earlier today, he addressed his previous comments and criticisms about The Last Jedi, saying:
I regret voicing my doubts & insecurities in public.Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that-
@rianjohnson made an all-time GREAT one!#HumbledHamill
Call us crazy, but we’re confident that one day, The Last Jedi is going to be considered in the same breath as The Empire Strikes Back as the very pinnacle of Star Wars quality, and the note-perfect send off to Luke Skywalker is a huge part of that. It might be a long shot, but we’re also hopeful that Hamill’s faith in Rian Johnson is rewarded with at least a couple of nods come awards season. He gave a tremendous performance in the film and deserves to be recognized for it.
Even if he isn’t, though, no one can deny that Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a meticulously crafted sequel that helps accelerate Lucasfilm’s franchise toward a bright future, one in which the galaxy’s fate now rests on the shoulders of Rey, not Hamill’s Jedi Master.