An online interaction between Rian Johnson and Mark Hamill on May the 4th reignited the debate of whether the latter truly hates Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Since The Last Jedi‘s theatrical release in 2017, the film has become the single most divisive Star Wars property in the franchise. One side of the fandom dubs The Last Jedi as one of the worst-ranked Star Wars films, while others praise writer-director Rian Johnson’s ability to take the franchise in a unique direction after Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The divisive nature of the film split the fanbase in half, leading to the equally controversial reaction to the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Despite this reaction, upcoming Star Wars TV shows like The Acolyte promise to involve elements of the film such as Ahch-To, the planet on which Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker exiled himself in The Last Jedi. Concerning Hamill himself, the actor has had a changeable history with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with many claiming the actor hates the movie. With Star Wars Day 2024 reigniting this debate, it is a subject worth fact-checking.

Mark Hamill’s Initial Problems With The Last Jedi Explained

Hamill’s Perceived Hatred Of The Last Jedi Began During The Film’s Production

Initially, Hamill first commented on Star Wars: The Last Jedi shortly after the film’s release as reported by Comic Book. Hamill was asked about his character’s direction in the film, with the actor’s answer serving as the basis of the “Mark Hamill hates The Last Jedi” argument. Hamill went on record saying that he fundamentally disagreed with Rian Johnson’s take on Luke Skywalker. Hamill recalled how he told Johnson that “Jedi don’t give up” and that “even if Luke had a problem, he would maybe take a year to try and regroup, but if he made a mistake, he would try to right that wrong.”

Hamill stated that the crux of his problem was that Luke accepted his failure and exiled himself, believing the Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy would never do that. Hamill continued: “I almost had to think of Luke as another character. Maybe he’s ‘Jake Skywalker,’ he’s not my Luke Skywalker.” This kickstarted another wave of fans who disliked The Last Jedi to take the ‘Jake Skywalker’ moniker and use it as reasoning for their criticisms of the eighth chronological Star Wars movie.

Mark Hamill Regrets Voicing His “Creative Differences” With Rian Johnson

Hamill’s Public Words Against Johnson’s Vision Was Misconstrued By Audiences

It is worth noting that every opinion Mark Hamill voiced about his initial The Last Jedi problems is perfectly valid. As with anyone who is a fan of film, Hamill is entitled to his own opinion and should be allowed to voice it freely as he did. However, shortly after voicing these creative differences, Hamill’s words were misconstrued and used almost as ammunition by fans who shared his opinion. Those who disliked Star Wars: The Last Jedi began stating – incorrectly – that Hamill hated the movie, thus using that as a reason to discredit the opinion of those who liked Episode VIII.

In the aftermath of voicing his opinions, around two weeks after Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released, Hamill took to Twitter to clarify his prior words. Likely seeing the outpouring of hate and vitriol against The Last Jedi in his name, Hamill posted that he regrets voicing his doubts and opinions so publicly. Hamill stated that, while creative differences are a common occurrence in the film industry, they perhaps should not have been voiced so openly. The actor continued that he only desired to make a good movie and that he believes Rian Johnson made an all-time great one.

In light of Hamill’s initial problems, this may seem like the actor backtracking due to the hatred that was being spread using his words. However, as alluded to, Hamill mentioned in the initial interview that he believed Johnson was the right man for the job. Hamill’s post voicing his regret over sharing his opinion so publicly was even quoted over a snippet from an interview in which the actor stated “I’ve had trouble accepting what he [Johnson] saw for Luke. But… I have to say, seeing the movie, I was wrong.”

Mark Hamill Insists He Doesn’t “Hate” The Last Jedi

Hamill Has Constantly Had To Reiterate His Opinion On Star Wars: Episode VIII

With divisiveness over Star Wars: The Last Jedi not easing since 2017, Hamill has often been forced to reiterate how he feels about the film. A lot of these reiterations were found through Hamill’s social media accounts, with continued Twitter posts from the actor addressing complaints about the film. In one such instance, Hamill was tagged in a thread that housed two sides of warring fans over whether The Last Jedi was good or bad. Hamill responded via Twitter:

“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. I just wish people wouldn’t cite my challenges with the character as proof I “hated” the film when the opposite is true.”

As Hamill pointed out, the side of the fandom that did not care for The Last Jedi began using his words as an incorrect fact that he disliked the film. More so than this, some who disliked The Last Jedi even began claiming that Hamill’s difference in opinion with Rian Johnson meant the former hated the latter, as well as the film itself. One Twitter post, which has since been deleted, read “Every time Mark opens his mouth it’s clearer how much disdain he has for Rian Johnson.” Hamill replied to this candidly.

Finally, another fan took to Twitter to ask Hamill about his views on The Last Jedi five years after the film’s premiere. The fan asked Hamill if he had changed his mind about the film since his initial comments and whether the actor would do anything different if he had the chance to go back. Hamill responded rather bluntly in his usual humorous style, stating “A little.” and “Yes.” to the respective questions. All of these instances are unfortunate moments in which Hamill had to prove he did not hate The Last Jedi despite his initial difference of opinion with Rian Johnson.

Mark Hamill Now Has Fond Memories Of The Last Jedi

The Luke Skywalker Actor Looks Back Upon The Last Jedi’s Production With Pride

After years of discourse, division, and controversy derived from Hamill’s opinions of The Last Jedi, it is unfortunate that it still needs exploring whether or not the actor hates the film or not. As evidenced, Hamill clearly does not hate Star Wars: The Last Jedi, nor its director Rian Johnson. The actor may still have some differences of opinion about how Luke was handled in the film’s story, but as he has stated himself, that is no reason to misinterpret his words to claim he hates the product or the other creatives involved in crafting it.

Hopefully, Hamill has finally put these rumors to bed as of May 4, 2024. In honor of Star Wars Day, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson took to social media to share a post celebrating the production of the film. Johnson posted four behind-the-scenes images from the set of The Last Jedi, accompanied by a simple caption of a heart emoji and the “MayTheFourthBeWithYou” hashtag. Upon seeing the post, Hamill replied to Johnson’s tweet with a post of his own, proving once and for all how the Luke Skywalker actor looks back on his experience with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.