After The Last Jedi killed him off, Luke Skywalker only had a minor role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with Mark Hamill turning up for a cameo during the scene when Rey returns to Ahch-To. In the original version of Episode IX, however, the legendary Jedi Master would have had a much more significant part to play.
This week, various drafts of Colin Trevorrow’s initial vision for the Sequel Trilogy finale have surfaced online. The final draft is the one that’s most fascinating though, as it gives us an idea of how the completed product would have turned out if the Jurassic World director hadn’t split from Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams wasn’t brought on board. One notable change in his script is the continual role for Luke’s Force ghost throughout the plot.
Essentially, Luke would have returned to haunt his nephew Kylo Ren in a bid to get him to change his ways. In particular, when Kylo visits Vader’s old stomping ground of Mustafar, on the hunt for a powerful Sith Holocron, Luke would have warned him that this is where the Dark Side always leads “to an empty tomb.” Despite his best efforts, Luke fails to redeem Kylo, leading him to believe he can’t change.
Meanwhile, Luke and Rey share a scene later on in the story, at the heroine’s lowest point, similar to the TROS version. Here, though, the pair would have got into a heated argument. Firstly, over Rey’s insistence that Kylo can be redeemed and then also over the effectiveness of the Jedi, with Rey claiming that they never truly brought balance to the Force as darkness always destroyed them. This would’ve been an interesting inversion of the pair’s viewpoints in TLJ.
The character was also to have appeared in the third act, again pleading with Kylo to stop his evil actions and then, likewise echoing what happened in Rise, encouraging Rey and imbuing her with new hope when she’s near death. A memorable moment would’ve then occurred when he tells her that she’s not the last Jedi as he’ll always be with her.
It’s clear that Trevorrow wanted to make the most of Luke in his take on the movie, while Abrams perhaps decided to keep him to the sidelines as there were so many characters to juggle. Tell us, though, would you like to have seen this embellished role for Mark Hamill in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Have your say in the comments section down below.