Why Luke Can't Die in LOTF

I have this theory on why Luke won't die in the LOTF series in any of the 9 books. Let me note first, though, that this thoery only works if the authors plan to write more books after this series is done--which seems likely if the authors (and Lucasbooks) want to continue making money. If Luke is killed, it is only likely to be at the hands of Jacen correct? If Jacen kills Luke there is no way he could be redeemable at that point, as it is unlikely that any of the characters would accept him ever again, even his own mother, father, or sister. The only conclusion if this were to happen is that Jacen would eventually die as well. After both Luke and Jacen are dead, where do you go with the Star Wars Universe? Sure, there'll still be Ben around, but one likeable character is not likely to help the series keep going, at least with being entertaining. Of course, I could be totally off-base with this and Ben turns out to be the character that turns the EU around and Jaina could gain some likeable amount of personality, but it seems--in my opionion--to be very unlikely.

 

There is one problem with your theory: What if there is no EU between the end of LotF and the start of Legacy? An empty buffer zone between them. So then there would be no need for likeable heroes...

 

Also, you seem to be rather narrow-minded with regards to the ways that Luke could die. It doesn't have to be by Jacen's hand. In any case, I don't think that Luke will die either, but simply because I don't believe that Lucas would allow Del Rey to do it even if they wanted to. They wanted to kill him off in the NJO and Lucas said 'no way!' I don't see why he would have changed his mind since then.

 

Imagine the pressure on the author who would have to write Luke's death...no matter what s/he does Luke's final chapter will piss people off.

I don't think Luke will die in LOTF either. That is unless we find out that the last book is really going to be written by Lucas...

 

Yeah, Salvatore got actual death threats for killing Chewbacca, and it wasn't even his idea! Imagine the author who has to kill off Luke Skywalker.

 

I think Chewbacca inspires a different sort of loyalty than any other character, except maybe R2D2. He's just all heart, and people respond to that very viscerally. I think major heroes are expected to die in a blaze of glory, or to make final sacrifices, or whatever. The furry, lovable sidekick with the quiet nobility and fierce loyalty to his friends... it's different.

Anyway, I thought the whole point of LotF was supposed to be to retire this particular set of characters, and I thought these were the last books to be written in the post-ROTJ era, period. We don't need to carry forward from here if this is the end of the line.

 

Killing Luke off is highly unlikely because of his status among star wars fans no matter how much Lucas tries to backpeddle otherwise to protect the prequels as the true hero of the franchise and remembering that back in the NJO Luke was one of the only characters Lucas put on the unkillable list. However, if they did kill Luke whose to say its Jacen? Everyone seems to be going off half cocked on the assumption that Jacen is going to become the next big bad Sith Lord. As far as I'm concerned Jacen is dark yes and his morals are questionable to the extreme but since Betrayal is Book 1 of 9 looking at some conventions and evenahead to the book titled exile, I'm more inclined to see Jacen as a red herring being used to mislead the reader of the true threat. Do I think Jacen will splinter from the Jedi, without a doubt which is where Exile I think comes into play. Its far to early to write Jacen off as a villain, a follower of the Vergerium with a ruthless streak, yes, evil Sith Lord no. Plus I think they've invested far too much in Jacen over the books simply to write him off as an Anakin clone and going Sith Lord evil. I think something else is pulling the strings will be revealed to be the evil perhaps even something linking to the KOTOR era, I for one would like to see something linking post ROTJ with Revan and the Exile.

 

I dont see the point of the question. Luke leia and Han are on the list of characters not to be killed. Has that changed?

 

well gee, i know i can't always rely on the (spoiler) mark in the message header as a warning now. i've been avoiding every one of those messages b/c i haven't had the chance to start on it yet, and already i can piece together what happens. a little discretion please? it 'is' possible to discuss this topic without getting into brand new book specifics.

anyway - i think luke is going to go the way of yoda. peacefully and then by dissipating into the force just like yoda and (supposedly) vader did. i dont want to rip open the 'was the armor empty' wound again... he's too valuable to the story line, not to mention lucas's golden family.

 

Luke, Han, and Leia -were- on the "Don't Kill List"....for NJO. There may be a whole new set of rules in place for "LotF".

However, I don't think any of them will die. Whether or not LotF is the "swan song" for these particular characters or not, I think they'll all end up with a (reasonably) happily-ever-after ending. Will it be a perfect Galaxy? No, but it'll be peaceful enough that they'll be able to enjoy a bit of quiet (semi)retirement before peacefully passing on.

Now....Lando, Mara, Wedge, and any other of the multitudes of secondary/books-only characters? Yeah, they might be in serious trouble before these 9 books are out. But I'm -hoping- they'll have learned their lesson with NJO and will keep the body count comparatively small....

But we'll see.

 

exactly. you rule. <not being facetious>

 

They were originally going to kill Luke off in Vector Prime instead of Chewbacca, right?

Trust me, he certainly can die in LOTF. I won't certainly he certainly will, but he definitely can.

 

I don't follow your logic. Because they weren't allowed to kill him in Vector Prime they must be allowed to kill him now? If anything, doesn't killing Chewbacca in his place support the notion that Lucas will never allow them to kill off Luke?

 

No, the limits for the NJO were because GL hadn't done the prequels yet. Now the movies are completed.

And we know Luke has to die sometime, by the Legacy comics. His death has already been foreshadowed in Betrayal. Like his mother's and grandmother's.

 

Exactly, Luke is definately killable now that the prequals are out and Lucas is done with the movies. Im almost certian that 2/3 of the Big Three will die by the end of LOTF and couldnt be happier.

 

I feel Luke is going to Die in LotF.
Will that make Jacen unredeemable if he is at fault, even if he doesn't deliver the final blow? yes.

also, If the Jedi are going to split, that won't happen while Luke is alive. He is the strong charasmatic charater that holds everything together right now. He is the Kingpin. remove him and everything falls apart. which is why I think he will die, and in the middle of the series. it would be left to the other jedi, Leia, Jaina, Mara, Ben, et al to (attempt to)destroy the Sith and restore order. which they will seemingly do.

 

That still doesn't make any sense. What does Luke dying in the NJO era have to do with the prequels? Authors weren't allowed to write about the Clone Wars or the early adventures of Obi-wan because of the prequels, but events that happen more than 20 years after RotJ have nothing to do with the prequels. He labeled Luke as a no kill character because he doesn't want some EU author to kill off the guy who has been synonymous with Star Wars for generations. Of course Luke is dead by Legacy. No one lives for ever. It is 100 years after Betrayal, after all. But that doesn't mean he's going to be killed. And there have already been plenty of threads discussing the reliability of Jacen's visions...

 

Of course Luke is dead by Legacy. No one lives for ever. It is 100 years after Betrayal, after all.

90 years after Betrayal. Luke would be 149 years old. Even non-Force sensitive humans have lived older than that in SW. Like the Bakuran senator Orn Belden who died at the age of 164 and duke Theta, who was alive at the time of ROTS and was born in 319 BBY.

 

Isn't Legacy 140 aby while Betrayal is 40 aby?? In any case, no characters from the NJO era seem to be alive and kicking in Legacy, but that doesn't mean that they are all going to be killed off in LotF. Maybe the authors simply decided that humans living past 150 is rare, even in the GFFA.

 

Isn't Legacy 140 aby while Betrayal is 40 aby??

First issue will be placed in 130 ABY, main story starts in 140 ABY.

In any case, no characters from the NJO era seem to be alive and kicking in Legacy...

Lucas representatives claim that the old characters might not all be dead, but somewhere else doing something else, because it´s a big galaxy etc...

 

i think luke should die....i mean he has done all he can for the new republic...its time he passed it all on to benm or someone...heck i would love to see tenel ka as the leader of the jedi....i mean she is a public speaker and everything...she can do great things for it....but i also think ben is a good choice...even tho he doesnt fit the perfict jedi profile

 

i love luke whole heartedly but before he dies he needs a protege like some one to take his place, Jacen is a wonderful charactor but as of now he is in no condition to lead the Order, Jaina is screwed up but getting a little better, but Ben and Allana are possibilitys

 

luke will (hopefully) live a very long life and die of natural causes.

besides, if luke, leia and han aren't around in the books anymore, then i doubt i'll be reading any novels past that point. i believe the writers know that a large part of the fanbase stems from those core characters. that notion was only reinforced when chewie died (i think i read something about death threats?).

as for who will take over the order in the future - its anyones guess. definitely someone on the council - but i hate speculating about things i dont believe will happen. we saw what happened to the stability of the jedi when luke was detained during the swarm war.. i dont believe anyone else at this point has the charisma to lead the jedi. sure there are people strong enough - but not level headed enough.

so, future story lines will have arc between movies. i could go for some more a new hope to empire bridge novels or even empire to jedi - shadows of the empire has always been one of my favorites - im sure they can think of something. -or- the sith war/prequel era is wide open as well. but i digress

 

i agree i think there should be more books about before the clone wars...i would love to hear more on the sith wars and many other things that helped build the old republic before it was ton down....and yes i also think there would be a drop in sells when luke dies ut i mean it has to happen

 

I'd do it in an instant, and global disapproval means nothing to me. You've been warned.