‘Star Wars’ Actor Mark Hamill on the ‘Force Awakens’ Scene He’d Change (Video)
“I thought there was a great missed opportunity,” says the Luke Skywalker actor
Beatrice Verhoeven | April 17, 2017 @ 8:04 AM
Last Updated: April 17, 2017 @ 8:06 AM
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Mark Hamill thinks there was “a great missed opportunity” in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and gave his two cents on what he would’ve changed in the hit 2015 sequel.
In an interview with Fandango’s Erik Davis at last week’s Star Wars Celebration, the Luke Skywalker actor said he had hoped for a Skywalker/Han Solo reunion in the movie. And — spoiler alert! — he would have put Leia and Luke in the position of witnessing Han Solo’s death instead of new characters Finn and Rey.
“We carry so much emotional resonance into the next film, for us — his wife, his best friend — to witness, instead of two characters that’ve known him what, 20 minutes?” he said. “Well, Chewie. But still, no, I thought there was a great missed opportunity,” said Hamill.
However, the actor admits he has “so many really terrible ideas” and may even make a list of the most outrageous ones he’s had: “I look back now, I go, ‘What was I thinking?'”
At the Celebration, Lucasfilm dropped the poster and first trailer for the eighth installment in the franchise, this December’s “The Last Jedi.”
The late Carrie Fisher was also honored at the event, with George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy, daughter Billie Lourd and other members of the “Star Wars” family speaking of how Fisher changed their lives with her jovial presence and extraordinary acting ability.
The event included a tribute video showing how the actress freely quipped about the undying celebrity status “Star Wars” had both blessed and cursed her with and how, even nearly 40 years later, she could still recite with ease the plea for help Leia gave to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) through R2-D2 in Lucas’ original 1977 movie.
“Star Wars” The Force Awakens” has grossed over $2 billion worldwide since it debuted in December 2015, making it the third highest-grossing film globally after “Avatar” and “Titanic.” Domestically, the film was the highest-grossing film in history.
'Star Wars: The Last Jedi': Let's See What We Can Learn From These 25 Trailer Shots (Photos)
The first teaser trailer for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” just popped out of Star Wars Celebration in Orlando. It’s full of teases, all right, showing the return of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the training of Rey (Daisy Ridley), and the Resistance and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) under threat. Here are 25 intriguing shots gleaned from the trailer.
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As the teaser for "The Last Jedi" opens, Rey's hand explodes onto the scene, suggesting she's in distress.
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Like the first trailer for "The Force Awakens," "The Last Jedi" starts with a breathless character seemingly in trouble -- this time, it's Rey, instead of Finn. It seems like her training is taking a lot out of her.
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This planet, by the way, is Ahch-To, the planet where Rey discovered Luke at the end of "The Force Awakens." We know a significant portion of the movie will take place there, and the trailer drives that home.
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The planet where Luke was waiting for Rey is also the home of the first Jedi temple, a detail the trailer suggests is very important to the plot of "The Last Jedi."
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Rey's training on Ahch-To continues as she appears to be meditating at an ancient structure of some kind above the water.
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And Rey's abilities with the Force are definitely increasing under Luke's tutelage.
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Despite the setbacks of "The Force Awakens" and the destruction of the Republic, the Resistance is still fighting in "The Last Jedi." This silhouette belongs to General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) in a Resistance command center.
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Whispers played over this shot of what appears to be the destroyed helmet of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) sound like they could be Emperor Palpatine or Supreme Leader Snoke talking about the Dark Side. Also present are some distinct Darth Vader breathing sounds.
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These seem to be books filled with ancient Jedi teachings, if the next shot is any indication. Luke's voice over here about the Force being so much more than Light, Dark and their balance seems especially telling.
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The next shot shows these are, in fact, books. And that lightsaber-like drawing recalls the original 1977 poster for "Star Wars." We might guess that Luke has discovered some ancient Jedi teachings that are illuminating his new philosophy about the Jedi Order.
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As we saw before, Rey is definitely getting some training from Luke, in any event. Here we see her practicing with his original blue lightsaber. It's the one Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) gave him in the first movie, and which originally belonged to Anakin Skywalker.
Another angle on the ships tearing across the desert.
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We knew Finn would be back, but apparently he's still in pretty bad shape after his fight with Kylo Ren, when he took a slash from a lightsaber across his back.
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Meanwhile, the fight is far from over for Poe, BB-8 and the Resistance. Here the suggestion is a Resistance base is coming under heavy attack.
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Poe might even lose another grounded X-Wing as an explosion rocks the hangar bay.
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It looks like Rey, Chewie (Peter Mayhew) and the Millennium Falcon won't spend all their time with Luke. Here's the Falcon mixing it up with TIE fighters. The Falcon, you'll recall, was last seen delivering Rey to Ahch-To.
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The Falcon might have shot down one fighter, but two more in pursuit are a good reminder not to get cocky.
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The positioning of this shot of Rey running with her lightsaber and the next shot of Kylo Ren might suggest another battle between them. The landscape is tough to make out, but hues make this looks like Ahch-To.
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We don't see much of Kylo Ren in this teaser, but he's definitely still seething with anger.
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This appears to be another flashback to a scene first shown in pieces during "The Force Awakens." It looks to be Luke and R2-D2 at the destroyed Jedi Temple. This is what precipitated Luke to go into exile -- when Kylo and his Knights of Ren destroyed Luke's nascent Jedi Order.
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It's tough to make out in the trailer, but that looks like it could be Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) returning in "The Last Jedi" with her First Order stormtroopers.
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The number of large ships in this burgeoning space battle, coupled with the shots of the attack earlier, suggest the Resistance is in a bad way in "The Last Jedi." They might have destroyed Starkiller Base, but they definitely haven't stopped the First Order.
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Probably a fair guess that Poe eventually gets into an X-Wing and blasts some TIE fighters, though -- we're guessing it's this one.
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The trailer ends on a powerful note: Luke in silhouette, telling Rey, "It's time for the Jedi to end." That could mean a lot of things, but it seems likely that after the many failures of the Jedi, Luke is embracing new teachings and a new philosophy.
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We take a gander at every scene from the trailer to see what we can learn about the movie from them
The first teaser trailer for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” just popped out of Star Wars Celebration in Orlando. It’s full of teases, all right, showing the return of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the training of Rey (Daisy Ridley), and the Resistance and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) under threat. Here are 25 intriguing shots gleaned from the trailer.