Credit: LucasfilmStar Wars icon Mark Hamill has been playing Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise for as long as the Skywalker Saga has existed. He made his debut in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in 1977 and went on to star alongside Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa) in the rest of the original trilogy, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983).
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Hamill, who is extremely active on social media, is known for sharing Star Wars fun facts with fans on a regular basis — from a never-before-heard story about the late Fisher during ESB production to a hilarious photo of finding his Tosche Station power convertor 43 years later, Hamill is a fan-favorite online.
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Now, the actor is at it again with details about the scene that was supposed to open the first Star Wars sequel trilogy movie, Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015).
In the final cut, as fans already know, Hamill doesn’t appear until Rey (Daisy Ridley) finds an aging Skywalker on the island planet Ahch-To during the last scene. Originally, however, Skywalker — or at least a part of him — was intended to appear in the movie’s opening sequence as well.
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Hamill took to Twitter to fact check an Uber Facts posts that stated:
The original script for “The Force Awakens” opened with Luke Skywalker’s severed hand floating through space, still holding his lightsaber
The actor confirmed the Star Wars trivia, hilariously calling it “Ultra Trivial Trivia” — which, to be fair, is many Star Wars fans’ favorite kind:
Fact Check: TRUE
As my hand hurtled through the stratosphere, the flesh & bone burn away & the lightsaber impales the surface of an unnamed planet. Just imagine: Had this sequence been retained, I would’ve had bookended cameos, plus TWICE the screen time! #UltraTrivialTrivia
Fact Check: TRUE
As my hand hurtled through the stratosphere, the flesh & bone burn away & the lightsaber impales the surface of an unnamed planet. Just imagine: Had this sequence been retained, I would've had bookended cameos, plus TWICE the screen time! #UltraTrivialTrivia 🥱 https://t.co/svXh9Xhhk9— Mark Hamill (Mar🐫) (@HamillHimself) October 8, 2021
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Luke’s hand, for those unfamiliar with the Star Wars story, was severed by his father — the former Anakin Skywalker, current Sith Lord Darth Vader — during the duo’s immensely famous “Luke, I am your father” scene that features an epic lightsaber battle.
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In the Star Wars timeline, The Force Awakens takes place nearly 30 years after the events of the original trilogy, meaning that Luke’s hand has been floating through the galaxy for decades in JJ Abrams and his team’s original script. While this would have been a great Easter egg for longtime fans of the franchise, it was clearly not meant to be.
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However, Star Wars fans definitely haven’t seen the last of Hamill’s legendary Jedi Master. Thanks to CGI de-aging technology, he returned to the Star Wars saga during the original trilogy era in Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s The Mandalorian Season 2 finale episode (“Chapter 16: The Rescue”).
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Arriving just in time to save Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”), Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and their motley crew of companions from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his deadly Dark Trooper droids, Skywalker is now set to play a key role in The Mandalorian and its spinoffs — Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett — moving forward.
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Although the rumors of a Skywalker-centric series featuring his Star Wars Legends wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, and his new Padawan, Grogu, haven’t been confirmed, both Hamill and his rumored replacement, Marvel star Sebastian Stan, have spoken out on the possibility.
In January after the episode aired, the What We Do In the Shadows actor expressed his gratitude for being able to make a cameo appearance in The Mandalorian, sharing:
Dear @MrPeytonReed, I am so grateful to have been given the unexpected opportunity to revisit my character when he was still a symbol of hope & optimism. Your assured direction & kindness was a crucial element in the experience & means more to me than I can say. #ThankYOU
Dear @MrPeytonReed,
I am so grateful to have been given the unexpected opportunity to revisit my character when he was still a symbol of hope & optimism.
Your assured direction & kindness was a crucial element in the experience & means more to me than I can say.#ThankYOU🙏 https://t.co/yNngOQdJRS
— Mark Hamill (Mar🐫) (@HamillHimself) January 16, 2021
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What do you think about this Force Awakens scene? Would you have preferred it to the actual opening of the sequel trilogy?