How The Original Force Awakens Ending Would've Changed The Last Jedi

One small detail proposed for The Force Awakens could've had massive repercussions for The Last Jedi.

Last year, Mark Hamill revealed that the final scene of J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens had to be changed at the last minute after the team realized it would contradict what Rian Johnson wanted to do with The Last Jedi. Although Hamill didn't originally say what that change was, he recently opened up about it in a new interview (via Digital Spy). 

As we all know, The Force Awakens ends with Rey (Daisy Ridley) finding Luke Skywalker (Hamill) on a rocky island on Ahch-To. That was still going to happen. But the early plan was to have Luke surrounded by "floating boulders" to show his use of the Force. 

It's a big deal because in The Last Jedi, we learn that Skywalker has cut off his connection to the Force. That's why Luke didn't come to the rescue of Han Solo and Leia Organa in The Force Awakens: he didn't know what was happening because he didn't sense it. 

"When we were doing [The Force Awakens], Rian said, 'We might have boulders floating to show your Force emanating', so I was led to believe that I still had the Force and it was really strong in me," Hamill said. "When I read [The Last Jedi] before [The Force Awakens] came out, I said, 'What?" and called J.J. [Abrams] or Rian [Johnson] to say, 'Are you guys aware of this? Have you seen a cut? Is there floating boulders?' And they said, 'No, we caught that and we worked it all out.'"

Hamill has been openly critical of the choices Johnson made when it comes to Luke in The Last Jedi. During the months leading up to the release, he didn't hold back when saying he didn't agree with Skywalker's backstory. "He's not my Luke Skywalker," Hamill said. "But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well. But, listen, I still haven't accepted it completely."

When that quote got out, Hamill said on Twitter that he shouldn't have aired his grievances so publicly. "I regret voicing my doubts and insecurities in public," he said. "Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private. All I wanted was to make good movie. I got more than that. Rian Johnson made an all-time great one!"

Although fans have been split when it comes to The Last Jedi, it still became the biggest domestic release of 2017.