Why Mark Hamill Asked For The Force Awakens' Ending To Be Changed

Luke Skywalker

The ending of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on the cusp of reaching iconic status. Rey's meeting with Luke Skywalker is one of the most talked about elements of the movie, despite being so simple on the surface. The ending of Rey offering Luke his original Skywalker is supposed to lead right into Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but that's exactly what made Mark Hamill nervous about it. Hamill got worried that there was an inconsistency from the ending of The Force Awakens with The Last Jedi and he called Rian Johnson about possibly changing it.

There was something that happened at the end of The Force Awakens when I'm standing on the cliff. I called Rian in a panic because it was all wrong. He said, 'It's okay, I spoke to J.J. and he's taking that scene out.' It just didn't match up with what Rian had written.

A little backstory first: the ending seen in The Force Awakens may not have been the originally intended ending. According to a Star Wars blog, Star Wars Shadow Council, they received a tip that J.J. Abrams may have shot a more intimate ending to his Star Wars movie. Supposedly, Luke was supposed to take the lightsaber from Rey and possibly give her a hug. However, Rian Johnson asked that they make what happens next a bit more ambiguous, because of where he wanted to go with the Rey and Luke relationship (pretty understandable).

In an interview with Empire (via Star Wars Shadow Council), Mark Hamill may have added some credibility that the ending was reshot. He called Rian Johnson "in a panic" because the events on the cliff did not match Johnson's script. Johnson assured him that J.J. Abrams was "taking that scene out." It stands to reason than that something was changed about the ending; whether it was specifically Luke talking the lightsaber or something else, we can't know for sure yet.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is one of the highest anticipated movies of the year. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the sequel will continue the adventures of Rey as she trains under Luke Skywalker. However, he growing Force powers give Luke, who would rather see the Jedi end, cause for caution. The relationship between these two characters will likely be a big focus of the sequel, and we'll have to see if certain fan theories about parentage turn out to be accurate.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is all set to storm theaters on December 15, 2017. Remember to save a good seat by pre-order your tickets! To learn more about The Last Jedi, here's everything we know so far about the highly anticipated sequel.

Matt Wood

Matt has lived in New Jersey his entire life, but commutes every day to New York City. He graduated from Rowan University and loves Marvel, Nintendo, and going on long hikes and then greatly wishing he was back indoors. Matt has been covering the entertainment industry for over two years and will fight to his dying breath that Hulk and Black Widow make a good couple.