Daisy Ridley says Mark Hamill felt like the real Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Luke's arc in the sequel trilogy was one of the most divisive elements of the new films. The optimistic and idealistic hero of the original trilogy had become a jaded cynic who went into self-imposed isolation, believing the galaxy would be a better place without him or the Jedi involved in the fight. Some felt this creative choice was bold and daring, while others said it ruined the character and the franchise. Even Hamill had reservations about the way Luke was portrayed in The Last Jedi, though he later regretted making those thoughts public.
Hamill returned to play Luke one last time in The Rise of Skywalker, appearing as a Force ghost. There's a notable shift in his attitude during his interaction with Rey when compared to The Last Jedi. The sequence plays as a role reversal for the two, with Luke talking Rey out of living in exile and encouraging her to embrace her destiny. Luke's changed outlook on life wasn't lost on those who were making the film, and Ridley felt that must have been good for Hamill.
The making-of documentary included on the Rise of Skywalker home media release includes a segment about Hamill's return. In it, Ridley discusses how Luke is more reminiscent of the upbeat original trilogy protagonist in The Rise of Skywalker. Check out her interesting quote on the matter in the space below:
“It was probably nice for Mark to be more like the Luke of old. Which I think JJ felt like he really wanted that. It was nice to feel - and even in the scene - to feel really comforted that like [takes big sigh of relief] ‘Luke Skywalker is here’.”
Considering Hamill's past thoughts on The Last Jedi, it's fascinating to hear Ridley talk about the Rise of Skywalker scene in this manner. Some may interpret Ridley's comments as a marked rebuttal against what The Last Jedi was going for, going out of her way to praise The Rise of Skywalker for depicting a more heroic Luke. However, it's worth mentioning Rise of Skywalker director J.J. Abrams downplayed the notion he was criticizing Last Jedi's Luke in his film, publicly admiring Rian Johnson's decision to give Luke an arc in Last Jedi that he could build off of. Additionally, in the same documentary segment, there's a soundbite from Hamill where he talks about Star Wars' theme of redemption and how it's important to know that even Jedi make mistakes and can bounce back from them. So, it would appear Hamill is at peace with Luke's trajectory in the sequel trilogy, now that he knows the full story.
It would have been strange if Luke was still grouchy and pessimistic in The Rise of Skywalker; his portrayal in the trilogy's conclusion reads as a natural continuation from where he left off in The Last Jedi, having learned a valuable lesson. He made sure Rey didn't repeat the same mistakes as him, using his personal failure as a learning tool for his young student. There admittedly are some issues with the Luke scene in The Rise of Skywalker (namely, the X-wing plot hole that required explanation in the novelization), but Skywalker's point of view was not one of them. For all Star Wars fans, it was nice to see the Luke of old take the screen one final time.
Source: The Skywalker Legacy