One of the real joys of this year’s Star Wars Celebration was watching Mark Hamill lean into his status as the grumpy patriarch of the “Star Wars” franchise. From slightly rambling stories during the “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” panel to jokes about his “terrible ideas” for the new movies, nobody knows better than Hamill how to talk about a “Star Wars” movie without, you know, actually talking about a “Star Wars” movie. It’s a charming mix of complete candor and absolute secrecy.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that Hamill didn’t share anything of note. After the panel for ‘The Last Jedi,’ Hamill and his costars spoke with ABC News about the new trailer, suggesting that it was “possible” for Luke Skywalker to turn to the dark side while also admitting that he was shocked by the script that director Rian Johnson had written. Here’s the full quote:
“There’s a difference between teaser and a trailer. A teaser is supposed to show you dynamic images that heighten your awareness and make you want to see the trailer, but avoid all story points if at all possible. [But] I think that’s the only story point that’s in the teaser, which is Luke saying it’s time for the Jedi to end… It was as shocking to me to read what Rian Johnson had written as I’m sure it will be for the audience.”
All joking aside, I’m constantly in awe of how Hamill and his costars manage to talk for hours at a time about ‘The Last Jedi’ without letting anything other than a few calculated tidbits slip. If you put me up on that panel, I’d probably give up the entire plans for the rest of the series in the first five minutes before running screaming from the stage. That being said, those looking for hints at the future of Luke Skywalker probably won’t find too much they didn’t already know. Hamill being shocked is a nice quote, but Skywalker turning to the dark side? Like it or not, that was always on the table. We’ll just have to — ugh — wait and see what the “Star Wars” franchise has in store for us.