Mark Hamill On The Decades Of Murky STAR WARS History Between RETURN OF THE JEDI And THE FORCE AWAKENS
In a new interview, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill touches on something many Star Wars fan boys are interested in exploring- the decades between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
Back in December 2015, Disney and Lucasfilm detailed plans for a series of projects dubbed "Journey To The Force Awakens" which would bridge the 30 year gap between Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Forming this narrative series were:
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Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig
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Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry
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The Weapon of A Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry
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a series of YA tie-ins
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and a series of tie-in comics from Marvel.
However, details on what Luke Skywalker has been up to have been sparse for obvious reasons as that's terrirtory that will be exclusively explored in the new trilogy. But it seems not even Mark Hamill was sure what Luke's been doing and the actor resorted to creating his own backstory to fill in the blanks between Luke arriving on Ach-To, Kylo Ren's betrayal and his self-imposed exile.
"Absolutely [this Luke is different and unfamiliar]. Luke changed, I think, more than the other characters in the original trilogy, from callow farm boy to a Jedi in training to finally a Jedi master. What you're talking about is what really fascinated me. Between "Return of the Jedi" and "Force Awakens," there's just decades of history that's unknown. "
"So I was wondering how they're going to handle all this. Now, obviously, with "Force Awakens," J.J. (Abrams) had a full plate. It was inevitable that they would push me down the line. I was sorry I wasn't able to work with any of the original actors again. But it's not about us anymore".
"In this new one, I was saying to Rian Johnson: I need to know my backstory. It was kind of unclear. You read where he is now and what he's doing now and sort of have to fill in the blanks for yourself. So I did do a backstory myself. It's not about Luke anymore, so it's not really important. But I had to make sense of it for myself. What Rian came up with, I was stunned."
Perhaps this is story material that will be told in additional novels and comics...or perhaps this is another prequel Lucasfilm might be considering as part of their anthology film series. If such a film does enter development, there's certainly a fan favorte actor idealy placed to portray a middle-aged Han Solo...
If even Hamill doesn't know all the details of what Luke's been up to in the last 30 years, perhaps no one does? That certainly leaves fertile ground that could potentially be explored in a future film.
How long did it take Luke to find Ach-To? Did any other Jedi complete their training before Kylo/Ben Solo's betrayal? Has Luke been on Ach-To all this time or did the Force compel him to leave the planet periodically ? Was Rey the first to find him?
There are literally a hundred questions that need to be answered regarding Luke's exile and if The Last Jedi doesn't answer them, I think fans would rather have that story told in another film instead of more books, comics or cartoons. Do you agree? Let us know in the comment section below.