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Freddy Krueger is responsible for Mark Hamill playing Luke? What?!
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00:00If you've only followed Luke Skywalker's Star Wars life in the movies and TV shows,
00:05and also haven't really dug into the real-life history behind the character played by the
00:09fantastic Mark Hamill, then you're probably unaware of some pretty fascinating Skywalker
00:15facts. So let's take a closer look at arguably the most famous Jedi in history, and the things
00:21you likely did not know about him. Because I'm Gareth, this is What Culture Star Wars,
00:25and here are 10 things you didn't know about Luke Skywalker.
00:3010. Luke Skywalker Had Jeans On Throughout 1977's Star Wars
00:35Those who follow Mark Hamill on social media, he's recently left X and has now hopped on over to
00:42Blue Sky, in case you didn't know, have been treated to more than a few glorious Luke Skywalker
00:47nuggets over the years, and some of the most surprising actually involve the character's
00:52clothing. No one will ever be able to forget the iconic farm boy costume that Hamill wore
00:57as Luke in 1977's Star Wars, wandering around the desert world of Tatooine in a robe-like
01:03shirt, tan trousers, and boots. It turns out that his bottoms were nothing more than a pair
01:08of bleached Levi jeans, though, according to Hamill. And speaking of jeans, before he revealed
01:13the origins of his A New Hope pants, Hamill also noted that Luke was actually wearing a standard
01:19pair of jeans during some iconic moments in that film. Remember the shots of Luke speeding
01:24across Tatooine in a land speeder? Well, when the second unit got those moments in the can in Death
01:30Valley, Hamill opted simply to wear, you guessed it, a pair of jeans. His bottom half could not be
01:35seen, of course, so Hamill just threw on some comfy denims for the shots. Oh, and did you know that
01:40C-3PO
01:41was actually played by a teenage girl in that same moment? They didn't feel the need to force Anthony
01:46Daniels into the suit again for these shots, so the Luke Skywalker actor found himself having to
01:50explain the movie to her on set. Well, that was fun.
01:54Number 9. Freddy Krueger had a hand in Mark Hamill's casting, according to Robert Englund
01:59Back when George Lucas was casting his first space opera, eventual Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund,
02:06ended up wandering into the room after he'd finished his audition for Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse
02:10now. That is quite a day. But after the casting team looked at the actor for five minutes, took a
02:15few Polaroids, and didn't actually let him read for the role of Han Solo, Englund did something that
02:21may have had a massive influence on the galaxy far, far away. As he'd tell the Guardian, he swiped the
02:27audition sites for the character that would become Luke Skywalker and took them home, a home that a
02:33certain Mark Hamill was chilling within at the time. Englund swiftly told his pal about Lucasfilm,
02:38and Hamill got on the phone to his agent, telling her he simply had to audition for this new space
02:43movie. According to Hamill, though, Englund was actually one of a few actors who'd told him about
02:49the movie, and when he did ring his agent, she'd already set up a meeting for the part. At the
02:53time
02:53of Hamill's comments, it was 2018 when he said that, she apparently still was annoyed that Englund
02:58continued to take credit for him eventually getting cast too. Englund himself would add in 2023 when
03:04talking to people, now his agent, I believe she already had him up for the role. And that may be
03:09true, I don't know, but I know that Mark hadn't heard about it yet, and I did tell him about
03:14it,
03:14and he got on the phone. That's the story. Whichever sign you believe, either way, it is clear that
03:19Englund was one of the people who nudged Hamill towards the Skywalker role that would change his
03:24life forever. Number 8, he worked with Palpatine for a bit. Episode 6, Return of the Jedi, memorably sees
03:31Emperor Palpatine trying his best to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side. Luke refuses to give
03:37in or join forces with Palpatine, of course. A moment that ultimately led to the temporary end
03:42of Darth Sidious. You know, before he somehow returned. However, there was actually a time
03:47there when Anakin Skywalker's son did in fact work with the Emperor. Long before Palpatine was
03:53resurrected in Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker, he was similarly reborn in Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy's
03:59expanded universe Dark Empire comic series. And when Luke discovered that the seemingly defeated
04:05Emperor was back, he'd created clones to transfer his spirit into, he ultimately agreed to become
04:10his apprentice in an attempt to conquer the Emperor from the inside. This was quite a risky plan though,
04:16and he was very close to being fully turned to the dark side. But Leia Organa was able to ultimately
04:22bring her twin back into the light. Luke would then clash with the Emperor in a duel before working
04:27with his sister to destroy Palpatine in a force storm. Well, for a bit anyway. Now this would all
04:33become non-canon in the end, of course, but it's still fascinating to learn that the personifications
04:38of evil and good that are the Emperor and Luke respectively were sort of on the same side for a
04:43little while. Now I've got a quick question, what is your favourite expanded universe story in Star Wars?
04:48Is it the Dark Empire stuff or something else? You let me know in the comments section down below.
04:53Number 7. Mark Hamill's Disturbing Backstory for Luke
04:58As already noted, Luke Skywalker got up to quite a lot in the time post-Return of the Jedi.
05:03The expanded universe saw him teeming with the biggest baddie in the galaxy, and more unbelievable
05:09things that we will get to later. In the current canon timeline, Luke set up his own Jedi Academy,
05:15trained a new generation, and watched his nephew fall to the dark side.
05:19And then you have Mark Hamill's utterly devastating version of Skywalker's pre-sequel
05:25trilogy backstory. Oh, brace yourself.
05:27As the actor would explain to Entertainment Weekly back before Episode 8, The Last Jedi
05:31released, he created a history for the character that helped him make sense of the Luke he found
05:36on the page in that Rian Johnson movie. He had a few ideas, explaining that he thought
05:41of a scenario involving Skywalker falling, in his words, in love with a woman who was a widow
05:46and had this young child. After leaving the Jedi to marry that woman and raise the kid,
05:51said child then ended up picking up a lightsaber and accidentally killed himself with it.
05:56Ah.
05:57None of that tragic history is canon, something that Hamill was quick to point out himself,
06:03but Johnson was happy for the actor to build whatever story he felt he needed to get to the
06:07dark place that Luke was in during the middle sequel.
06:10And just like that, you will never be able to watch Mark Hamill's performance as a broken Luke
06:15in that film the same way again.
06:18Number 6, He Had a Clone
06:20As promised, here's another balmy chapter from Luke Skywalker's expanded universe life that needs
06:26to be seen to be believed. A few years on from the Battle of Endor, Luke actually ended up coming
06:30up against a clone of himself. And said clone went by the incredible name of Luke Skywalker,
06:36that is Luke with two U's. Using cells from the hand that was sliced off by Darth Vader in Episode
06:435, The Empire Strikes Back, Dark Jedi Jorah's Cabal created this clone, and it would eventually
06:49cross lightsabers with the original Luke in Timothy Zahn's The Last Command novel within the Thrawn
06:54trilogy. Luke with two U's even used the Skywalker family lightsaber that Luke lost on Cloud City
07:00during their fight. You know, his fight with Vader. In the end though, this copy was killed by
07:04Mara Jade, who we will get to soon enough, don't worry, during that showdown. With the
07:09former Emperor's hand also killing Cabalth. Gotta hope that's how you say his name.
07:13If it wasn't clear already, the expanded universe was a pretty wild place where just about anything
07:17was possible. And a pair of Luke swinging laser swords at one another is one of many
07:22fascinating Legends moments that simply is not talked about enough when it comes to this
07:27Star Wars icon. If you're having fun learning about the amazing Luke Skywalker, then hit that
07:31subscribe button down below and you're gonna get more What Cultures Star Wars videos in your corner
07:36of the galaxy. Sounds like a good time to me. Number 5, What Happened to His Green Lightsaber?
07:43Though it certainly wasn't the only lightsaber he wielded during his time in the galaxy far,
07:48far away. He famously boasted his father's blue one first, and a yellow weapon after that in the
07:53comics. His green blade is the one that often springs to mind when talking of Luke Skywalker. I mean,
07:59it's the weapon he uses when clashing with his father one last time on the second Death Star,
08:04the lightsaber he carries around with him during the decades that followed Episode 6, Return of the
08:08Jedi, and it was the one he infamously ignited when he briefly considered killing his own nephew.
08:13But even though we technically see the weapon in that aforementioned flashback in Episode 8,
08:18The Last Jedi, Luke doesn't actually wield it in the present day during that film or the sequels in
08:24general. It's only really seen in flashbacks. Despite it not being super clear in the movie
08:29itself, the movie being Episode 8, The Last Jedi, Luke did indeed take it with him when he went into
08:34exile on the world of Act 2. So what happened to it after his demise in the middle sequel?
08:39Well, it was actually locked away in the island repository by the matron of the caretakers found
08:45on that little rock, joining Luke's star compass and his other possessions in that safe space.
08:50So if you ever wondered why Rey didn't end up burying her old master's weapon alongside the
08:55rest of the Skywalker laser swords on Tatooine, it's because the caretakers were taking care of
09:00it on Act 2.
09:02Number 4, A LOT OF HIS MOST POWERFUL MOMENTS HAPPENED AWAY FROM THE SCREEN
09:06While on the subject of The Last Jedi, that film displayed just how strong with the force this
09:12Jedi master had become in the years since the end of the original trilogy, with Luke Skywalker using it to
09:17project himself across the galaxy to help the resistance escape Krait. But if you thought that
09:21was incredible and have only ever seen this force wielder in action on the big and small screen,
09:26then wait until you hear what he got up to away from the movies and shows.
09:30The expanded universe, unsurprisingly, contains a ton of freakishly powerful displays from the
09:35masterful Jedi. He once manipulated an entire black hole in the New Jedi Order Dark Tide 1
09:41Onslaught novel, absorbed blaster fire from an 8080 in the Dark Empire series, made himself
09:47immovable by rooting himself into the ground via the force in the Darkness 3 The Swarm War book,
09:52and even used force lightning aka electric judgment in the New Jedi Order The Unifying Force novel.
09:59He was just as strong in the new canon too, healing a red bled kyber crystal in the Star Wars
10:05Number 43 comic book for example.
10:07On-screen Luke was not to be messed with, yes, but the Skywalker found in novels and comics was often
10:12even more impressive.
10:15Number 3, he was an old general in one Star Wars draft, a girl in another, and he had a
10:20different
10:20name at one point.
10:22A lot can change during the writing process, my friends, and that was very much the case when
10:26it came to the central character in George Lucas' first Star Wars adventure.
10:30Long before he'd become the farm boy who yearned for some adventure, and to get off the dusty rock
10:35of Tatooine, the character that would become Luke Skywalker was actually a 60-year-old general
10:40in one early version of the story.
10:43Lucas considered making the main hero character a girl or a little person at different points
10:47too.
10:48Along with going through quite the physical change, the central protagonist of Star Wars
10:52also had a different name for quite some time.
10:55How the change from Luke Starkiller to Luke Skywalker happened so late in the day, they had to reshoot
11:00scenes where Mark Hamill referred to himself as the former.
11:03Why did Lucas opt to change that name?
11:05Because he didn't want people confusing him with someone like Charles Manson in his words.
11:10The Manson family murdered Sharon Tate in the late 60s, and with that in mind, Lucas clearly
11:14had a change of heart and felt that the idea of a star killer being included in his film
11:19wasn't the best choice.
11:21Number 2, he confronted Vader before episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back, in canon and legends.
11:28No one will ever forget the first time Luke Skywalker ever crossed lightsabers with his
11:33father on Cloud City.
11:34That gripping duel concluded with Darth Vader revealing to the Jedi in training that he
11:39was in fact his daddy, of course, blowing the minds of folks all over our own world.
11:45However, this wasn't actually the first time that father and son ignited lightsabers in
11:49front of each other.
11:50With both the new canon and expanded universe containing stories that show Luke coming face
11:55to face with Vader before episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back.
11:59The former went down in the first issue of Marvel's 2015 Star Wars comic.
12:04When Vader showed up during a rebel mission on Psymoon 1, a naive Luke decided to attack
12:09the Sith Lord.
12:10Bad move.
12:11He was soon disarmed by Vader, who recognized Skywalker's lightsaber as the one that was once
12:16his.
12:16Before he could kill Luke there and then though, Han Solo soon crashed into the fight with
12:21an 80-80 like the good pal he was.
12:23When it comes to the expanded universe first showdown between the two, that technically
12:28occurred in Alan Dean Foster's 1978 book Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a novel originally designed
12:34to be a potential low-budget follow-up to the first Star Wars if that movie flopped.
12:39Imagine.
12:40Min Barn was the location of the Vader-Skywalker fight here, with Leia and Luke clashing with this
12:46Darth on the world after they had been trying to find the Kyber crystal.
12:50It was spelled a bit differently back then.
12:51Luke used that object and a little help from a Force Spirit Obi-Wan Kenobi to defeat Vader
12:56too, even slicing off one of the cyborg's arms.
12:59In other words, Legends Luke did a little better than the new canon Luke in their pre-Empire
13:04encounter.
13:05Number 1.
13:06He's had a few love interests
13:09Now, attachments may be forbidden for Jedi, but you may be surprised to learn that this
13:14did not stop Luke Skywalker from forming a number of them, both in the expanded universe
13:19and new canon.
13:21Easily, his most notable romance involved the Force-sensitive Mara Jade, who was mentioned
13:26earlier.
13:27After arriving in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, the former Emperor's Hand went from being
13:32intent on killing the Jedi to working with him and eventually falling in love with him.
13:36It happens.
13:37The pair would eventually marry too, before bringing a son into the world by the name of Ben Skywalker.
13:42How sweet.
13:43Jade wasn't Luke's only flame, though.
13:46Legends' tales showed Luke having feelings for a number of other characters not called
13:51Mara over the years.
13:52Like Mary, who was tragically killed by the Empire in the 89th issue of the Legends Star Wars
13:57comic series, and Jem Yasana, who was tragically killed by a member of the Dark Side Elite in
14:03the Dark Empire series.
14:05And the Disney timeline also added a name to his love list, you know?
14:09Rebel Nakara Kaelin was someone that Luke clearly had feelings for, you know, before she was
14:15also killed in the Heir to the Jedi book.
14:17Oh, the poor lad didn't have much luck, did he?
14:19Yeah, and the less said about all that weird Leia stuff, the better too.
14:22Let's just not go there.
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