Mark Hamill’s Alternate Ending To ‘Star Wars The Force Awakens’ Is Way Better

No film is without flaws (except for The Dark Crystal, which is perfect in every way — fight me). A quote often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci says it best: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” There’s always something that could be tweaked, a line added or removed, a character given more or less to do, a scene that feels off but you can’t put your finger on it.

Even Star Wars isn’t immune. I’ve talked before at length about how putting Padme into a love triangle with Obi-Wan and Anakin would’ve made the prequels infinitely more watchable. But fans aren’t the only ones with ideas. Mark Hamill — Luke Skywalker himself — recently spoke to Rotten Tomatoes about a key scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He would’ve done things differently and, quite frankly, it’s a really good rewrite.

When asked if he was disappointed that Luke and Han never got a reunion, Hamill said absolutely.

In fact, when I was reading [the script], I thought ‘If Leia is trying to mentally contact me and she’s not successful, she’ll rush to [Han’s] aid. She’ll get close to him and then get into some dire situation and that’s when I show up for a big YAY! [After] I save her life, then we rush to Han and are in the same position that Rey and Finn and Chewie are. Too late to save him, but witness it. Because that would carry so much emotional resonance into the next film. For us. His wife. His best friend. To witness [Han’s death]. Instead of two characters who have known him for, what? Twenty minutes.

Maybe let Hamill help write Episode IX? Just a thought.