Page 15 - Star Wars Insider - The Last Jedi 2018

AHCH-TO

LUKE SKYWALKER

THE RETURN OF A JEDI

MARK HAMILL

Once a young man craving adventure and excitement, Luke Skywalker’s
abandonment of the ways of the Force comes as a shock to Rey.

2 /
CLOTHES MAKE THE
MASTER
When it came to dressing Mark
Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, costume
designer Michael Kaplan felt that
the grand robes Luke was seen in
at the close of The Force Awakens
wouldn’t be appropriate for day-
to-day life on Ahch-To. “While it
was necessary that he starts The
Last Jedi in the same costume, we
very quickly see him going about
his daily routines, and the robes
would have been too cumbersome
to navigate the rocky walkways. So
we gave him some work clothes, a
parka, and a backpack
for supplies.”

eturning to the iconic character that he Despite initial reservations regarding Rian

first helped define 40 years ago, Mark Johnson’s plans for Luke, Hamill found working

Hamill notes that Luke Skywalker’s with the writer/director a positive experience,
R state of mind at the beginning of The reporting that “There’s no one more deserving of
Last Jedi—a direct continuation of the end of The trust.” It was Johnson’s varied filmography that for

Force Awakens—is at first ambiguous. “Rey offers Hamill was a big part of the appeal of working

him the lightsaber, and he just stares at her.” with the director. “If you look at his movies, each
For Rey, Luke is almost a mythological fi gure, is different than the last. You can’t pigeonhole him

something that impacts how she—indeed how and say, ‘That’s the kind of film he makes.’ That’s
everyone—perceives him. “At some point, people what will happen with The Last Jedi. It’s so
doubt he’s a real person,” says Hamill. “Because of the different in many ways, subtle ways, than the other
1/ Rey ponders her next gravity of the situation, the urgency of the situation, Star Wars movies, and yet it is satisfying in
move as some feathered
friends look on. (See she doesn’t have the luxury of getting to know him delivering what the fans want to see as well.”
previous page) and relax and exchange ideas. She needs him and Something that was familiar for Hamill was
wants to enlist his help and abilities to her cause. And stepping onto the Millennium Falcon set.
2 / Rey watches as that’s the conflict. Luke’s in a very different place than Describing the experience as “bittersweet,” he

Luke performs his we’ve ever seen him before.” found memories came flooding back. “It’s like

humble, if energetic,
daily routine. Where that place is, is a state of disillusionment. going to your old high school or the house you
After tragedy struck his attempt to rebuild the Jedi lived in in sixth grade. The detail’s perfect. It’s just
3 / Mark Hamill’s Order, Luke Skywalker renounced the notion of as I remember it. I climbed up and down the
powerful and thoughtful the Jedi and took a long step back from galactic ladder, got in the hold where we stowed away, and
performance in the
movie has won the actor affairs. “Luke always represented hope and sat in the cockpit with my grown children and
much critical acclaim. optimism,” says Hamill. “And now, here he is wife. Later I slipped away and got really choked
(See opposite page) pessimistic, disillusioned, and demoralized.” up. This is a moment, and it’ll be gone.” a

16 | STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

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