Luke Originally Had a Samurai Look for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars fans may have been anticipating a legendary return for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens before the film was released in 2015, however, watching the film, viewers found that the Jedi master was only meant to appear for a brief period of time in the movie's final scene.

Interestingly enough, it seems like J.J. Abrams had a different look in mind for Luke when he conceptualized Episode VIII. Sharing art from the film, concept artist Christian Alzmann reveals Luke's original appearance for The Force Awakens.

According to the artist, the sequel trilogy Luke had been described to him as a Col. Kurtz type – a reference to Marlon Brandon's character from the seminal movie Apocalypse Now.

With his hair tied up behind him, Luke's original look for The Force Awakens was supposed to be a reference to the samurai movies that influenced George Lucas in making the entire Star Wars franchise.

"My first image I made for #starwars: #theforceawakens wakens," Alzmann wrote in the caption of his post, "This was January of 2013. Luke was being described as a Col. Kurtz type hiding from the world in a cave. In the Art of Star Wars The Force Awakens by @philszostaksf."

It's such a shame that Abrams opted for a cleaner look for Luke. Long hair looks good on Luke.

Of course, the dishevelled short-haired look of Luke in the sequel trilogy also spoke volumes, reflecting the Jedi Master's internal despair after losing his nephew to the Dark Side.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available for streaming on Disney+.

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