ST Why are we looking for Luke?

Hello,

Folks, as you can tell, I am a long time user from before the release of "Attack of the Clones". This ain't my first rodeo, and I have followed Star Wars since the onset of my birth. With that said, I do have a question for the younger generation of Star Wars fans as well as the oldies like myself.

So, why was Princess Leia and the Resistance looking for Luke Skywalker? I realize that the opening scroll reveals that Luke has went missing and that Leia is looking for her brother, but I am unclear as to why Leia needed him. It is implied that Luke has been missing for a very long time, but I was left wondering why Leia needed Luke to be found; the movie implies that she has been looking for Luke for an extended period of time, and she was given important information on how to find the missing piece of the star map that is located inside of R2-D2.

Whenever Luke's alleged whereabouts were determined, rather than seeking out Luke herself, Leia sends a stranger (Rey...who may not be a stranger), Chewbacca, and R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon to find him. The end of "The Force Awakens" implies that Rey has went to find Luke in order to train with him, but that will clearly be explained in the next film.

I just...well...as a man who can understand the absurdities of "Attack of the Clones"...I am still confused on the search for Luke Skywalker and its importance in the film.

Let me be clear, I also understand why the First Order and Kylo Ren want Luke dead; Luke is responsible for the downfall of the Empire, and he is also responsible for helping Darth Vader accept the Light.

Let me be clear with regards to another point, I am not concerned with why Luke went into exile or why Luke is alone at Skelig Michael, since this will be explained in the next film.

This is my most desperate hour. Help me, "Theforce.net". You guys are my only hope.

 

It's explained in the very first scene:

Without any Jedi, there can be no peace.

If the first order didn't have Ren, it might be a different story- two army's going at it. But since you have a dark force user running around using it to their advantage: leia's best defense is the best Jedi

 

Because he's the last Jedi. The Jedi/Sith/Force Users have always been instrumental in these sorts of conflicts, and indeed Luke himself is the one responsible for taking out the Emperor and Vader, a huge blow which eventually led to the fall of the Empire/rise of the New Republic. Leia and the Resistance obviously know this, as do Snoke, Kylo and the First Order. He's a powerful and dangerous man.

 

"Leia and the Resistance obviously know this, as do Snoke, Kylo and the First Order. He's a powerful and dangerous man."

So, has Leia been looking for Luke since the moment he disappeared, or do you believe that she has only been looking for Luke within the last several years prior to the events of "The Force Awakens". It is clear as to why the First Order and Kylo Ren want to find Luke, but has she gotten privy to this information so that she can find Luke before they do? If so, that is a satisfactory explanation.

 

As others said, Luke is the last, best hope the Resistance has to stopping these two, new Siths/Dark Users. He's the only one who can teach Finn and Rey about the Force and how to be a Jedi (Poe's not Force Sensitive). Without Luke, there's no chance in Hell of stopping Snoke and Kylo from basically re-creating a new Sith empire.

 

"Luke is the last, best hope the Resistance has to stopping these two, new Siths/Dark Users. He's the only one who can teach Finn and Rey about the Force and how to be a Jedi (Poe's not Force Sensitive)."

However, Leia wanted to find Luke before Rey and Finn were involved in the story. While the opening scroll states that Leia is desperate to find Luke, nothing in the film implied that the Resistance is in a bad way. Heck, the Starkiller base was destroyed in a successful attack that resulted in low casualties. The need for Luke Skywalker was not successfully discussed in the film from the standpoint of the Resistance. Many of you are explaining why the First Order and Kylo Ren want to find Luke, but that point was made explicitly clear in the film.

My only guess is that Leia knows that the First Order wants to find Luke, so she decides to find Luke first. How Leia plans to use Luke is beyond anything discussed in the film, which may be discussed in Episode VIII or Episode IX when Leia is given confirmation that Luke has been located.

 

Yeah, that's exactly what most people who watched the movie yet and to whom I talked after it are confused about as well. And I was confused about this (and heavily complaned it) since I first heard these rumors in February. It is the main problem of this movie and the ending is anticlimatic. Everyone says they need to find Luke and he is important, but at the end of the movie we have super Rey and in my opinion I don't see a reason to find Luke anymore. At least it is not visible in this movie and additional to this, we find a broken man as Luke, who is nothing like a Luke who can give hope. Was this the intention of the filmmakers, or something went wrong?

 

Why are we looking for Luke?

Because JJ and Kasdan didn't want to use the character and rather write a Han Solo movie.

 

There's a few reasons.

1. Luke is the only one who can train new Jedi. Rey's moment of awesome notwithstanding, she doesn't have the experience or the training to stand against someone like Snoke.

2. Leia is trying to save Luke's life. The F.O. has been vociferous in their attempts to murder him, and she wants to protect her brother.

3. Snoke is afraid of him. Just a guess on my part, but I think Luke was the one who made him look so pretty. Gave him the 'ol Lightsaber rhinoplasty.

4. Luke is a military asset. As long as the F.O. has Snoke and his knights, then they have the advantage. Without Jedi, there's only so much the Resistance can do to counter Snoke.

As to why Leia didn't come to collect Luke herself, I can only assume that Leia has just become the leader of the New Republic and her time is now no longer her own. Someone has to organize and rebuild the government that Hux destroyed.

 

sadly true and you can see it in the way Han jumps into the first scene, which is made to have audiences cheering. Luke's last scene was not made to have us cheering and instead fear for him.

So I have no idea what they will do with Luke in the series, maybe he will go out like Obi-Wan in the next one. His Jesus like appearance could be a foreshadowing of his sacrifice.

 

I think she's been looking, but it's only now she has a lead.

 

Simple. He's probably the most powerful being in the galaxy and has the knowledge needed to teach a new generation.

 

Bashing. This is not okay. Please be constructive in your critique of the film.

 

I think some other folks have explained the narrative reasons here well enough so I will give my personal reason. In the opening scroll, which might be my favorite of the saga so far, the first sentence says "Luke Skywalker has vanished." As a movie-goer I immediately want to be part of a journey to find him. I want Luke back in the story.

 

Here is my understanding. Luke was training the next generation of Jedis, till Ben turned to the Dark Side. Devastated, he went into exile, and nobody* knew where he went.

Leia was probably only looking for her brother ....Having the only Jedi around would also be useful ....

The thing that is bugging me is the map. Why would he leave a map? Why was a part of it with Lor San Tekka? R2D2 had the rest of it, yet he went in to sleep mode. And even the First Order claimed to have the map that R2 did. That entire bit made no sense to me.

 

Apparently Han and Leia know about Snoke. That in itself is a mystery if Snoke is some ancient dark side user because he isn't some big mystery. But in any case, they somehow know that Snoke is the big cheese running the show and has command over the dark side which led to their son being evil. Luke is needed to confront Snoke.

 

Hi George W, hi guys, I think George W eloquently answered this question (that I too have been thinking about) in his post:

Luke is responsible for the downfall of the Empire, and he is also responsible for helping defeating Darth Vader accept the Light and the Emperor.

I'm not making fun. I actually found out from reading the official comic book tie-in, Shattered Empire, that what we know as the movie audience is different than what a person in the Star Wars setting knows. This is demonstrated in that story when Luke introduced himself to a Rebel pilot, a few weeks after the events of Return of the Jedi. Her instinctive reaction was something like:

"Of course I know who you are! You're the founder of Rogue Squadron (with Wedge Antilles)!"

And that's what he was famous for publicly to a person in the Star Wars universe. To us, he's the movies' protagonist and the last Jedi, secretly running off to train with Yoda. A person inside the Rebellion, who fought alongside him, would not know about that, precisely because he was running off in secret to all but his closest friends. To them, the Jedi, the Dark Side, the Force, they were just stories.

So this war hero who was an X-Wing ace, leader of the Rogue Squadron, who took down the 1st Death Star, then kept running off seemingly on secret missions, only to return to assault the 2nd Death Star and, when he came out, Darth Vader and the Emperor was dead. Even neglecting everything else, Luke Skywalker was like the Rebellion's super soldier. That is his value as a military asset.

In conclusion, putting myself in the shoes of a Resistance soldier under the command of General Leia, her searching for this super soldier (that just happens to also be her brother) to fight the First Order would totally seem to make sense to me. I wouldn't question her orders to search for this veteran Rebellion super soldier, as it'd totally make sense this guy's track record speaks for itself, even with limited information about him being a Jedi.

 

I knew I'd find you in here. We've been waiting for you over in the crow-eating thread.

 

The first Jedi temple explanation makes some sense. Was it mentioned in the movie? I suspect it must be mentioned in the TFA novel. I guess I should read that ...

 

And why First Order also have a map to Luke? I mean the one that R2-D2 also have? Kylo says that their map is incomplete...

 

It wasn't a map to Luke per Se, it was a map to the first Jedi temple.

 

the First Order has a Sith Master on its throne. One of his 2nd in Command is a Knight of Ren. If the Resistance plans to defeat the First Order, they need Luke to do it - they need a Jedi. They need a master of the Force if they want to play with the big boys. (especially since Leia couldn't be bothered to get her ass to some Force lessons apparently ugh, personal gripe).

Aside from that, Leia is the leader of the Resistance...and she is desperate to find Luke. Leia's mission is the Resistance's mission.

Leia sent Rey because Leia couldn't leave the Resistance. Especially since the physical New Republic had been destroyed on Hosnian Prime. She couldn't leave the Resistance when it was vulnerable without a leader. And she trusted Rey, and Rey had the Force (which I am sure Leia was filled in about). Chewie trusted her, and Han trusted her. Leia did too.

 

I'm pretty sure the first Jedi temple got a mention from Han. I also believe Leia trusts Rey because she knows who she really is.

 

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