Throwback Thursday: Remember When Mark Hamill Said He Wanted to Play Luke’s Dark Side?
This 2005 episode of “Dinner For Five” has begun to make the rounds again today, due to Mark Hamill’s comments starting at the 11:48 timestamp about the idea of playing an evil Luke Skywalker. Plus, the presence of JJ Abrams at the table in this episode means this video could lend itself well to your fan conspiracy theories.
Hamill claims that he shared the idea of Luke going to the dark side with George Lucas years ago, as a pitch for the beginning of Return of the Jedi:
I pitched that to George … as an actor, that would be more fun to play. I just thought that’s the way it was going. When we finished II, I figured, that’s what will be the pivotal moment. I’ll have to come back. But I’ll have Han Solo in my crosshairs, and I’ll be about to kill him, or about to kill the princess, or about to kill somebody that we care about.
Obviously, Lucas nixed that idea — and apparently he also said “no” to several of Hamill’s other ideas, from fight choreography to changing Luke’s hairstyle. That’s why, Hamill explained, Harrison Ford advised his co-star to ask for forgiveness rather than permission (hear Hamill’s impression of Ford at the 13:40 timestamp): “Don’t even tip him off. Just do it the way you wanna do it. If he notices, then … [shrugs]”
As I hinted at the top of the post, this video’s making the rounds again due to a certain fan theory that in The Force Awakens, Luke Skywalker could turn out to be a little less, er, affiliated with the light side than before. Clearly, Hamill would have had no trouble embracing a script with that theme — and we know the man’s got the talent and versatility to play the part differently. I mean, did you hear that Harrison Ford impression? Hamill’s got range!
(via Uproxx)
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