Here's why Mark Hamill thought fans would hate the Star Wars: The Force Awakens' ending

Fan anticipation was at a fever pitch before Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters in 2015, but there was one surprising person who thought fans would absolutely hate the movie’s ending: Mark Hamill.

In an interview with ABC News, the once and former Luke Skywalker actor revealed that at first he thought fans would bristle at the final scene: having spent the whole movie searching for Luke Skywalker, Daisy Ridley’s Rey finally finds him isolated on a scenic island sanctuary, offers him his old lightsaber back, and he stares wordlessly at her until the credits roll. “I was really wrong about [The Force Awakens],” he admitted. “I said, 'When I turn around, the audience is going to hoot and holler because it's such an obvious cheat.'"

What Hamill couldn’t have known was how much the film’s music, its cinematography, the editing, and newcomer Daisy Ridley’s acting would all combine to create one of the most memorable movie endings in recent years. “I didn't foresee John Williams's incredible music and the shots of Daisy or the build-up to it all,” he said. It sounds like seeing the final scene in context was an eye-opening experience for him. “I was never happier to be wrong,” he said.

The film’s ending is the perfect lead-in to the events of Rian Johnson’s sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It’s so perfect, in fact, that the new movie will break a forty-year Star Wars tradition and pick up immediately where the previous film left off, with Rey standing across from Luke above the cliff, offering his unlit lightsaber back to him. I can’t wait to see what happens after that.

In the meantime, check out Hamill’s idea for how the film should have ended (hint: it involves an encounter with Han Solo) and what he thinks about The Last Jedi’s title.

Directed by Rian Johnson and starring Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Laura Dern, and Benicio Del Toro, Star Wars: The Last Jedi arrives in theaters on December 15, 2017.

Images: Lucasfilm

Ben is an entertainment journalist who has written about movies online for nearly a decade. He loves the Fast & Furious franchise, prefers Indiana Jones to Star Wars, and will defend the ending of Lost until his dying day. He shook Bill Murray's hand once (so he's got that going for him, which is nice). Ben lives in Los Angeles with his wife.