Mark Hamill gained international stardom when he starred as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. The protagonist of the story in a galaxy far, far away had a hero’s journey as he went from being an orphaned kid in Tatooine to Jedi Master. He and his sister, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia, were the protagonists of the original trilogy along with Harrison Ford’s Han Solo.
However, after decades of holding the position of the original trio, director and creator George Lucas stated that the Star Wars films were never about Luke Skywalker and Leia. The Star Wars franchise has gone beyond the stories of the Skywalkers, but it always leads back to the family despite focusing on other characters in the universe.
Mark Hamill Was Not The Protagonists Of Star Wars
Mark Hamill played the role of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, beginning with Star Wars: A New Hope. The franchise’s original trilogy focused on Skywalker’s journey from Tatooine to discovering his true heritage and destiny as a Jedi. He joins the Rebel group that consists of Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO.
The Skywalker Saga traversed the entirety of the original Star Wars franchise. While the originals focused on Luke, the prequel trilogy focused on Anakin Skywalker’s journey from being a Jedi with great potential to Darth Vader after tragedy struck his life. Hence, despite Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker being the center in the original trilogy, the universe was more about Vader than about him.
George Lucas mentioned in an interview with Rolling Stone about why he felt Mark Hamill was not the protagonist of the franchise. He said,
“I made a series of movies that was about one thing: Darth Vader. Originally, people thought it was all about Luke. The early films are about Luke redeeming his father, so Luke’s the focus. But it’s also about Princess Leia and her struggle to reestablish the Republic, which is what her mother was doing. So it’s really about mothers and daughters and fathers and sons.”
Lucas has mentioned on multiple occasions about Darth Vader being the tragic hero of the Star Wars franchise. He compared Vader’s story to a Shakespearean drama.
The Tragedy of Darth Vader
Just as the original Star Wars trilogy began with Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker in Tatooine, his father Anakin’s journey too started from the planet where he was a slave. After training to be a Jedi with Obi-Wan Kenobi, his journey took a dark turn after secretly marrying Padme Amidala. He was enticed by the Dark Side to save his dying wife.
In the last of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, Anakin battles against his mentor and friend on the planet of Mustafar but loses his arm and legs. However, he is revived by the Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious and is turned into a cyborg. Padme is revealed to be dead by Anakin’s own uncontrollable Force powers, thus making him a tragic hero.
George Lucas has mentioned multiple times how the Star Wars franchise was always Darth Vader’s story and his tragedy. The antagonist finally redeemed himself in The Return of the Jedi, where he saved his son Luke Skywalker from death. Lucas mentioned in ‘The Making of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’,
“Darth Vader does become the hero. Darth Vader does destroy the Sith, meaning himself and the Emperor. He does it because he is redeemed by a son…So, the prophecy is true. By doing that he redeems himself and goes from being Darth Vader, back to being Anakin again.”
While Mark Hamill’s journey as Luke Skywalker set up the franchise, it was still Darth Vader’s story all along. The character has become one of the most formidable antagonists in pop culture history and will forever be known for his tragedy.
