"He Loses Everything": Mark Hamill Crafted a Tragic Version of Luke Skywalker — But It Never Made It to Screen

Think you know everything about Luke Skywalker? The farm boy from Tatooine who became a Jedi, the galaxy's last hope? Think again...

Turns out Mark Hamill himself envisioned his character's fate very differently. Much more tragically. And if his idea had made it to screen, the entire saga could have taken a completely different path.

On the Bullseye podcast, Hamill revealed that before filming "The Last Jedi" (2017), he pitched director Rian Johnson his own version of Luke's story. Not exile, not a philosophical crisis, not disappointment in his apprentice. But... love. The kind that can transform even the most devoted knight.
Actor Mark Hamill in beige and black costumes with a blue lightsaber in his hands
Scenes with aged Luke Skywalker from the film "The Last Jedi"
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"I thought: what could make someone abandon their dedication to what is essentially a religious order? What could break a Jedi?" Hamill muses. His answer: "A woman's love."

In his version, Luke falls in love, abandons the Jedi path, starts a family... and loses everything. His young son accidentally activates a lightsaber — and dies. His wife, unable to bear the grief, dies shortly after their child. And this darkness could have been the real reason for Skywalker's hermit life.

We never saw this Luke. And by the actor's own admission, he was drawn to precisely this tragic, personal story.
Actor Mark Hamill in a white costume with a lightsaber and in a beige cloak
Scenes with young Luke Skywalker from the film "A New Hope"
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Worth noting that these revelations came after Hamill confirmed in a ComicBook interview that he won't be returning to play Luke on the big screen.

"I am so grateful to George [Lucas] for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called Star Wars ‘the most expensive low-budget movie ever made.’ But my deal is, I had my time. I’m appreciative of that, but I really think they should focus on the future and all the new characters," he stated. Now the torch passes to Rey. In the saga's 10th episode titled "New Jedi Order," helmed by director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, her story continues 15 years after "The Rise of Skywalker." And as Hamill hopes, this won't be a story about legacy anymore. This will be something completely new.

Earlier on zoomboola.com, we detailed Hamill's interview where he discussed saying goodbye to the franchise character.