J.J. Abrams And Mark Hamill Tease The Mystery Of Luke Skywalker

In 2005, Mark Hamill and J.J. Abrams took part in IFC's Dinner For Five and during the show Hamill said that he pitched an idea to George Lucas in which he wanted Luke Skywalker to turn to the dark side in Return of the Jedi. Of course nobody knew that one day Abrams would direct Hamill in a brand new Star Wars trilogy, but fans are wondering if that IFC encounter influenced how Skywalker is being handled in The Force Awakens and the following two films.

"Dinner For Five …" Abrams recalled to Entertainment Weekly. "It was a funny night. And Stan Lee was there too – it was a very funny group of people. Yeah, Mark had a whole concept."

Did any of that sink in and find its way into The Force Awakens? Abrams offers a smile that looks like a "Closed" sign being turned forward in a storefront window. "It was definitely entertaining to be at that table, yeah," is all he'll say.

When EW spoke with Hamill, the actor was so tight-lipped he wouldn't the most interesting direction he received from Abrams out of fear it would spoil Episode VII. However, when his Dinner For Five appearance is mentioned he opened up a bit.

"That's the beauty of the story, is it leaves it up to the audience's imagination," he explained. "It was the story of a boy going from a farm boy to a Jedi Master, and I always thought it was amusing, and if you put it in terms of James Bond, it would be like telling the story of how he got his license to kill, and then stopping and never telling any stories of what his adventures were. But that was just the structure of the movie, so it leaves it to the audience."

The most intriguing quotes on Luke, in my opinion, come from John Boyega. "For Finn, he's been raised from the ashes of the Empire," Boyega said. "He's been taught about Luke Skywalker, he knows about his history. For him it's like joining the army and then learning about one of the great enemies of your country. It has that effect on him. But in terms of the Force, and the magical stuff that happens, that is the point where Finn kind of questions what is what. What is the Force, what part does Luke Skywalker play in all of this?"

Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max Von Sydow. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk are producing with Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in U.S. theaters on December 18.