ST Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in Episode VII

I am so glad they had the guts to handle Luke the way they did. It was completely original to the story of Star Wars and it worked so so well. There is nothing they could have done that would have made Luke's return to SW more emotional and more impactful.

 

I was certainly one of the detractors of whole idea of cameo Luke. But on watching the film, it made total sense. The ending I found was quite emotional and uplifting, it was perfect

 

It still depends how they explain everything about Luke in VIII.

 

Well they have already explained it from Hans point of view. His Nephew Ben turned on him and killed all his pupils, how could Luke not blame himself at least partially? And it's not like he just left like Yoda did and did nothing, it's clear he's doing something that we just don't know the motives to yet. We just need to hear it from Luke's POV. He found the first Jedi temple and I can't wait to see the scenes there.

I also think the map wasn't to Luke but to the temple itself

 

Not just the sense of responsibility but the fact he lacks purpose. He tried to train Jedi and Kylo burned his dream down to the ground. I think Luke will spring back to life and set up a new Academy, with the help of the Awakening, and largely inspired by Rey. But I maintain it will show Luke didn't run and hide from his duty. But merely took time to personally reflect on what had transpired. There would have been skirmishes, but I'd say the mass violence we see in TFA - planets blowing up, etc, only escalated quite recently. We'll see.

 

I'm a huge Luke fan and really wanted to see him in TFA. But I think that the story they told was the right way to do it. Do I wish there was more Luke in TFA? Absolutely. But....this is just Act 1, and there's room for more Luke in episodes 8 & 9.

As far as 'character assassination' goes, I think Luke retreating from the galaxy make sense in terms of the story and his character. Yoda tasked him to pass on what he learned....could be specific to teaching Leia (maybe), but I think its more likely that he was to rebuild the Jedi order. And this is the same guy who's 'plan' to turn his father back from the Dark Side was to basically sacrifice himself. And it was ultimately his love and willingness to sacrifice himself (and maybe reminded Anakin of Padme) that 'killed' Darth Vader....so that Anakin could in turn kill Palpatine.

Also, we should keep in mind that by Jedi order standards Luke received accelerated training. There's a lot more that goes into training a Jedi than what Luke got to experience for many reasons (need for secrecy, destruction of Jedi order/temple, etc). Which could explain why after his order is destroyed, he feels the need to go seek out more knowledge (like the First Jedi Temple). He needs to gain more knowledge to help rebuild the Jedi Order.

Now, just fast forwarding a bit to Shattered Empire, Luke has a line at the end that's a bit telling. "But if the cost of our struggle is the lives we fought to protect, the future we hoped to see.....then what is it we were fighting for?" He's speaking to another character, but it could also be seen as a bit of foreshadowing for TFA. He was responsible for the lives of his students, and especially his nephew Ben Solo...and he 'failed' at that. The future he hope for...a galaxy with a strong Jedi order, his nephew as a Jedi, and perhaps a family of his own was destroyed by Kylo Ren and his Knights of Ren. So I do think there is a degree of despair that Luke is feeling, which might help explain why he's been away.

And I do think there will be more of a role for him in the future. Teaching Rey. Showing us what he's been up to. And ultimately taking down Snoke. Luke wasn't directly the one to kill Palpatine...Anakin was. Anakin, the trained Jedi with more experience than Luke. And now Luke is in a similar position, with more experience than Rey. Plus, if the final showdown involves Snoke, Kylo AND the Knights of Ren...there needs to be at least 2 (maybe even 3 if you include Finn) Jedi to deal with a situation like that.

I don't like the lack of Luke, but I can see where it does make sense...especially taking into account his experiences & character.

 

the only reason he retreated and this was the story we got was because they wanted Han Solo front and center and didn't want Luke overshadowing Han or Rey.

Don't act like this was the only story or even the one GL wanted. It was clearly dictated by Disney.

 

we will see how Luke is treated in VIII and IX and if he is treated bad again, I will be out.

 

He wasn't "treated bad" the first time. He was treated as a legend throughout the galaxy. Who the good guys loved and admired and missed, who the bad guys feared and respected. And on top of that, even without being on screen for most of the time, his presence is felt, he helps drive the plot, he means something to old characters and new, and miraculously, again without screentime, had his character evolved.

Bloody well done to Abrams and co.

 

I hope he's 'tread badly' again. Because I love the way he was written.

 

Forgive me if this is being discussed in detail in another thread, but I have a few questions about the "map to Luke Skywalker" macguffin in this movie.

1. Does Lor know he only has part of the map when he gives it to Poe or does he think it's all they need to find Luke?
2. If so, does he realize that the First Order has the other portion of the map?
3. How do both R2 and the First Order have the same "rest of the map to Luke"?
4. When people in the film say "map to Luke Skywalker" do they really mean "Map to the first Jedi Temple? If so, why not just say that, because what guarantee is there that Luke would definitely be there?
5. Are we supposed to believe that before retreating, Luke somehow erased this part of the map from the Empire archives? And his away a clue for Lor to find at the right time? Or program R2 to power down with the rest of the map in his memory until the time was right?
6. How did the First Order know they were looking for the first Jedi Temple since Han says only those closest to Luke knew he was looking for that?
7. Where did Lor find the missing piece to the map, and did Luke ever intend for him or anyone else to find it?
8. How did the First Order/Kylo discover that Lor found the missing piece to the map?

I'm sure I can think of more questions, but these are just the ones off the top of my head walking out of my second viewing of TFA.

 

Beard's still there, people. Rest easy.

Merry Christmas!

 

i hope they don't sacrifice him and kill him off like Han or like Obi-Wan and Yoda in the OT.

wow check out how many likes that picture got in a half hour.

 

I wrote this in another thread, but I think it addresses everything in your post:


-- On the Death Star I, Artoo downloads the Imperial archives. Tons of information, including the Hyperspace route the First Jedi Temple. Artoo doesn't know this yet.
-- Decades later, Luke vanishes out of guilt and goes on a soul searching mission (we think). The rumour is, he's searching for the First Jedi Temple.
-- When Luke leaves, Artoo (without telling anyone) goes into low-power mode and compiles the Imperial Archive information, searching for the location.
-- The First Order, going through the same archives, have the same large part of the map that Artoo has. Both are missing the key and final piece.
-- Lor San Tekka has the missing piece (we don't know how yet, but the movie clearly shows he has a connection to Luke/Leia/Ben. And the Visual Dictionary says he was an explorer who basically worshiped the Jedi. so perhaps years before Luke sought it out, he did the same and is the only one to have charted the space) and when the need for Luke is dire, he contacts Leia. Leia sends Poe to retrieve the map.
-- The First Order have discovered Lor has the missing piece. Perhaps through spies (like in Maz's castle), or intercepting a transmission... Or even based on something Kylo himself knows (he and Lor clearly knew each other well before Kylo fell to the Dark Side). Maybe they compiled the data, realised a piece was missing and Kylo took a punt that payed off.
-- When BB-8 (with the missing piece) arrives at the base, he bumps into Artoo. I think his beeps are basically, as Abrams said, "Hey, I have this bit of map. Do you know where the rest is?". Threepio overhears, and explains that he believes it unlikely that Artoo has the data. Little does he know... Artoo (remember, he's in low-power mode, not outright shut off) hears this, and begins booting up, having in-fact recovered most of the map.
-- Artoo wakes, puts up the large part of the map, BeeBee places the final piece and--

Voila! The location of the First Jedi Temple, and hopefully, hopefully, Luke Skywalker.

 

Do people want him to keep the beard for the next two films? Or eventually shave it to his CT appearance?

 

Definitely. Keep the beard and the rest of the look in tact. I thought it was glorious.

 

One main question remains, how did Luke find the first Jedi temple when Artoo + LST have the information? Artoo had the full information before Luke left and he gave it to Luke, but was instructed not to give them to anyone else? Luke removed a part of the map and gave it to LST? But why so complicated? He did not trust his sister?

 

To me the big disappointment is not Luke having a cameo role. It is more about why did he have the cameo. The backstory of the movie is PT 2.0. A Skywalker, watched by a dar side user since he was a kid, is sepparated from his mother and that seals the deal. The dark lord corrupts him, he betrays his master, kills the Jedi and the master runs into exile.

 

That's a large part of my disappointment as well. If he had the cameo but was training Jedi in secret until they were ready instead of the PT rehash, it wouldn't be as bad. It's the combination of the 2.

He was treated badly. He was Order 66.2'd and sent into exile for a cameo simply because the writers couldn't figure out a way to include him in the story without overshadowing Han and Rey. Mentioning him doesn't change these facts.

The way he was written? You mean standing there and looking at the camera for a few seconds. Luke wasn't WRITTEN. He was written ABOUT. Big difference. Again, the backstory is part of the issue.

 

At the end of the day, I am convinced they can do certain things twice but not three times. It would feel incredibly stupid for Rey in future movies to be betrayed by a student that destroys the order she has just built and she goes into exile hoping his long lost offspring finds her. With the said offspring living on a sand planet and a new droid appearing with some kind of hidden McGuffin. Saying after more than 30 years "oh look, it´s like a ANH" might appeal to the oldies. But if X, or XIII start like that as well it would be more like "oh, look, once again the same damn story".

Anyway, I reallt like TFA, and hope Rian gives VIII the dosis of innovation TFA lacks.

 

I hope he keeps the beard and especially the longer hair. He looks like a rock star with it.

 

I am a bit concerned about his short hair right now. He really had a long hair for TFA. I don´t think he will start filming in January unless they do something to his hair or simply change his look for VIII. Maybe, taking into account he has already filmed in Skellig with Daisy, he won´t be needed until March or so.

 

hmmm, this would make me concerned about Luke's screentime for VIII. He only filmed 2-3 days at Skellig, so maybe 2-5 minutes screentime until now.

 

That's a stretch. Also, people need to stop saying that he "ran away." We DON'T KNOW exactly why he left or what he's been doing, simple as that.

 

Keep the beard for the rest of it. Mark may not like it, but it suits where Luke is now.