47 years after the release of the first Star Warsmovie, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, has explained why George Lucas changed the character's name into the iconic version that it is today. It's a well-known fact that Luke's name in the original Star Wars (later retitled A New Hope) scripts was actually "Luke Starkiller", a much more aggressive version of the heroic surname that has come to define the Star Wars episodic saga. Over the years, the reasoning for this change has been explained in places, but Hamill himself has now provided his own explanation.
Hamill reveals on the Politickin' podcast how he was made aware of his character's name change, as well as the circumstances surrounding it. He says that the scene where Luke introduces himself to Princess Leia inside her cell had already been shot with Luke's Starkiller surname, and that Hamill was confused to see the same scene on a call shot later on. After asking why that was happening, Hamill was informed that his name had been changed to "Skywalker," which Hamill responded to with "Oh, my God, like fire."
When I read the screenplay, which by the way, was called the The Adventures of Luke's Starkiller. That's taken from the Journal of the Wills, Saga number one, the Star Wars, and my name was Luke Starkiller, that I read on the call sheet. When I rescue the Princess, I had filmed it. She said, 'Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?' And go what? Oh the helmet? I take the helmet off. 'I'm Luke Starkiller. I'm here to rescue you.'
So we had filmed that and I got the call sheet and I saw that scene was on there again. I said, 'What's up with that?' They said, 'Oh, well, they've changed your name.'
I said, 'To what?' And they said to Skywalker. 'I said Skywalker, Oh, my God, like fire.'
Hamill then brings up the Star Wars focus group, and the contest they had on set surrounding this group's dynamic with Lucas. He says that, at one point, the focus group "didn't like the word wars", which would have, of course, completely altered the title of the movie. Thankfully, it didn't, but perhaps they were right where Luke was concerned.
The Star Wars Focus Group Was Right (About Luke Starkiller, Anyway)
It's Hard To Imagine Him As Anyone Other Than "Skywalker"
In the case of Luke's name, the Star Wars focus group was definitely correct here. Starkiller is way too aggressive of a name for someone like Luke, who fosters genuine care and empathy for other beings in the galaxy - and certainly shouldn't be associated so strongly with killing and crushing (even if he does have one of the galaxy's highest kill counts for the Death Star's destruction). Skywalker has also become so iconic that it's hard to imagine Luke with any other name. Still, it's good that Lucas stood his ground by keeping "wars" in the title.
Star Wars Brought Starkiller Back 31 Years Later
In Two Different Ways
The name Starkiller, of course, is now associated with Galen Marek "Starkiller" from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. A video game released in 2008, Starkiller was the secret apprentice of Darth Vader, though the character is now considered a part of the Star Wars Legends continuity rather than canon. Still, even Star Wars canon has brought back the name Starkiller by making it the name of the First Order's base on the planet that was formerly known as Ilum. This has made Starkiller a permanent part of Star Wars history.
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
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