Star Wars: Mark Hamill Denies Luke Has Turned to the Dark Side in ‘The Force Awakens’

There’s been a lot of Star Wars fan speculation about what has happened to Luke Skywalker since the end of Return of the Jedi, in terms of both his external journey and internal development as a character.

Based on what we’ve seen (and heard) of Star Wars:The Last Jedi, there’s been a lot of speculation that Luke has already turned to the Darkside when the events of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi take place. However, in a new interview with a Disney Insider magazine, actor Mark Hamill flat-out denies that Luke has been seduced by the dark side in this Star Wars sequel trilogy.

As Hamill explains:

“In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Luke has lost confidence in his ability to make good choices. It haunts him to the core. But he hasn’t gone to the dark side. This isn’t an evil version of him. But it’s still an incarnation of the character I never expected. It has pulled me out of my comfort zone. It’s a real challenge.”

The Star Wars sequel trilogy has already established some loose clues that reinforce what Hamill is describing in Luke’s personal evolution:

We know that after the war against The Empire, Luke established a new Jedi order and Temple, where he trained Ben Solo, when the boy demonstrated considerable Force ability. Ben was lured to the dark side and became Kylo Ren, and he and The Knights of Ren laid waste to Luke’s temple and (presumably) other students. Haunted by his failure to see what Ben Solo would become, Luke loses confidence in himself and went into hiding, fearing his power would do more harm than good.

A broken, rattled (and possibly half-mad) version of our noble hero from the Star War original trilogy would be a very different things than most fans are used to seeing. It hints at the fact that indeed The Last Jedi will be complicating the once simple notions of the light and dark sides of The Force, which could be a very interesting twist for this modern sequel saga – or a concept that just muddles what was once a clear mythos for mainstream viewers.

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens December 15. It stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.