An early design for Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) Star Wars: The Last Jedi costume is much darker than what was shown in the final film. After only appearing in the final moments of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, fans were eager to see who Luke had become in the years since the original trilogy. Luke's portrayal in The Last Jedi immediately became a point of contention among fans, much like the film as a whole. The Luke in The Last Jedi tossed aside his lightsaber, had run away to a near-deserted island, and believed the Jedi needed to end. Some fans took issue with this change and argued it went against everything the original trilogy established about Luke. Hamill seemed to agree, with him speaking out about his difficulty accepting Luke's change.
The Last Jedi culminated in Luke facing off with his nephew Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) via Force projection on Crait. The strain proved too much for him, and Luke passed away on Ahch-To. However, he returned as a Force ghost in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to give Rey (Daisy Ridley) a pep talk and encourage her to fight her somewhat grandfather Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Luke's final Star Wars appearance might have appeased fans more than his time in The Last Jedi, though it's hard to say because much of The Rise of Skywalker has polarized fans.
The art of Luke's Crait outfit appears in the newly released The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and was shared by the artist jock on Twitter. It looks similar to the final costume, though the design on the left keeps his white shirt tucked away, giving it a darker look. You can see it below:
The hardened Luke that fans met in The Last Jedi certainly took them by surprise, but he definitely looked cool. The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features many interesting designs that didn't make it into the film, like an alternate look for Dark Rey and Kylo Ren preparing to fight alien wolves. Regardless of how the newest Star Wars films have been received, they've supplied some excellent visuals that helped bring the galaxy from far, far away into a new era.
Luke's time in the Star Wars universe appears to be over, and it's likely fans will always debate whether The Last Jedi handled his characterization well. That's to be expected when it comes to this franchise. Still, it's always interesting to see the early designs that were considered for a film, and the latest from The Last Jedi is no exception.
Source: jock/Twitter