How much will we see Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens? That was a questions that permeated countless conversations prior to the release of that film in December of 2015. While many fans knew that it was unlikely he would take up much screen time, few would have dreamed that he wouldn’t have a single line of dialogue. And fans weren’t the only ones.

Another who didn’t realize until fairly late in the game was Mark Hamill himself. According to Vanity Fair, the actor had apparently dieted and trained for 50 weeks before he learned that his character was hardly in the flick. Apart from likely lamenting over the fact that he could have dieted and worked out a whole lot less, Hamill felt that his appearance earlier in the film would have had a greater emotional resonance.

Here’s how Hamill would have appeared in the film, if it were up to him:

“Now I remember one of the plots in the earlier films was the telepathic communication between my sister and me. So I thought, Carrie will sense that Han is in danger and try to contact me. And she won’t succeed, and, in frustration, she’ll go herself. Then we’re in the situation where all three of us are together, which is one of my favorite things in the original film, when we were on the Death Star. It’s just got a fun dynamic to it. So I thought it would have been more effective, and I still feel this way, though it’s just my opinion, that Leia would make it as far as she can, and, right when she is apprehended, maybe even facing death—Ba-boom! I come in and blow the guy away and the two of us go to where Han is facing off with his son, but we’re too late. The reason that’s important is that we witness his death, which carries enormous personal resonance into the next picture. As it is, Chewie’s there, and how much can you get out of [passable Chewbacca wail] ‘Nyaaarghhh!’ and two people who have known Han for, what, 20 minutes?”

Gotta love Mark Hamill. This is a guy who seriously has his finger on the pulse of fandom. He may be Luke Skywalker, but this is a guy who gets fans, and a guy who’s just as much of a fan of this stuff as the rest of us. That’s always interviews with him especially rewarding to watch.

This one was especially fun to read. As a fan of the character, and of Star Wars in general, I was also a bit bummed when Luke ended up not having a line of dialogue. After decades of waiting, the filmmakers were content to force us to wait another two years. That being said, it is hard to say whether or not his version would have been better. While it would have given fans that nostalgia, I feel like it takes it one step too far in forcing the reunions down our throats. Allowing Han to die, and having the confidence not to introduce Luke until the very end really helped to let the film stand on its own, which I think ultimately led to a more creatively fulfilling movie.

What do you think? Would you have preferred to see The Force Awakens end as described by Hamill? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Vanity Fair

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