We know very little about what happened to Luke Skywalker in the thirty years between RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE FORCE AWAKENS, but we may finally get a few answers to our questions when we catch up Luke in the upcoming STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI. As Mark Hamill wasn't about to get into the film with such a sizable gap in his character's backstory, he told Entertainment Weekly of some of the history he created for himself in order to step back into the role of Luke Skywalker.
It's important to note that what Mark Hamill came up with is NOT part of official Star Wars canon, but rather an exercise to get into the mindset of Luke Skywalker as a broken and weary man. "I wrote lots and lots of scenarios," Hamill said. "I made notes that he fell in love with a woman who was a widow and had this young child." Although the Jedi aren't supposed to have personal relationships, and it's not like we haven't seen them break this rule on occasion, Hamill added that Luke "temporarily" left the Jedi Order at this time. However, this relationship would come to a tragic end.
He left the Jedi to raise this young child and marry this woman. And the child got hold of a lightsaber and accidentally killed himself.
That's…a little darker than I was expecting, but Hamill said that this event created the "grief and guilt he could imagine leading Luke back on a redemption-seeking path." It also might explain why Luke seems to hesitant about holding a lightsaber once again "It’s nothing to do with the story, but when I think about gun violence and you read these tragic stories of kids getting hold of their parents’ guns and killing a sibling or themselves, I mean, I had to go to really dark places to get where Luke needed to be for this story," Hamill said. Although this backstory was an acting exercise, he did make sure to consult with Rian Johnson to order to get confirmation that he was on the right emotional track.
I sort of tested out some of my ideas just to make sure I wasn’t in conflict with anything. He was really nurturing in that regard, encouraging me to find ways to justify the actions in this movie. But like I say, that little story I told about Luke leaving the Jedi and getting married, that’s not officially what happens.
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI will hit theaters on December 15th.