Mark Hamill Actually Pitched An Evil Luke Skywalker Idea To J.J. Abrams

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It’s been a big week for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with both the reveal of the poster and the film’s final trailer being released. However, in true J.J. Abrams fashion we seem to now have more questions than answers. One that is consuming many fans is, where is Luke Skywalker? We know Mark Hamill is in the movie but he’s not on the poster, nor is he visible in the trailer. This has led some to speculate that the reason he's not around is because even seeing him could be a spoiler in itself. Does...does that mean he goes bad? If that turns out to be the case then there’s only one person to blame, Mark Hamill himself.

Back in the early 2000’s Jon Favreau hosted a show on IFC called Dinner For Five in which a roundtable of celebrities came together to discuss the business over a meal. A 2005 episode is making the rounds in which Hamill was a guest (with guest host Kevin Smith) and he talked about pitching George Lucas on the idea of Luke Skywalker going to the Dark Side in Return of the Jedi. It may seem like just an interesting coincidence, but it all becomes even more coincidental when you know who one of the other guests at the table was: future The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams.

Hamill says he honestly thought that Luke heading to the dark side was where the story was going following The Empire Strikes Back, and he also says it would be "more fun to play" and that he had ideas for how his Dark Side persona would look. While we’re not quite willing to go the full "Luke Skywalker is Kylo Ren" route, as it seems a bit of a stretch, it’s still very possible that Luke is a villain, or at least not a hero. Hamill brought it up in front of Abrams. Abrams helped write the script. The dots aren’t that hard to connect. You can check out the full Dinner for Five episode below. Skip to the 11:50 mark for the pertinent dialogue, and pay attention to the look on J.J. Abrams' face after Mark Hamill drops the bomb. The man obviously heard him.

We’re looking forward to our first look at Luke Skywalker when Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens December 18.

Dirk Libbey
Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.