ST The Monomyth - Luke and the Future

Okay so we all know that the Monomyth - also known as the Heroes Journey - was used throughout the OT and to a lesser extent the PT. One thing that is not mentioned much however is that Luke never took the final arc of the journey (something we never really see in modern incarnations of the mono myth) known as 'The Return'.

• Refusal of the Return
• The Magic Flight
• Rescue from Without
• The Crossing of the Return Threshold
• Master of Two Worlds
• Freedom to Live

Could we see this final arc for Luke, and to what extent will this arc be utilised for the new characters?

 

Sounds pretty much like a Jedi Master to me.

 

Remember you don't have to hit every point on the hero's journey. Just one in each category. Even then, they are only generalizations(not rules).

 

Well, yes, however most don't hit just three, not to mention Luke has hit each one up until 'The Ultimate Boon'. I just think it would make sense they would follow this structure through until its conclusion...

 

Perhaps if the rumors are true of Luke hiding then that could be Luke's "Refusal of Return ".

And everything else after that is Luke returning with his new powers and knowledge of the Force. He uses this power and knowledge to fight the new enemies but also to teach new Jedi and rebuild the Jedi order.

 

from the rumors, I could see this happening

 

That part is often left off of descriptions of the monomyth, so it's really interesting to see. I think luke has hit everything up until that point:
Call To Adventure:Finding R2, Leia's message
Refusal of Call:initially deciding to stay on the farm before aunt and uncle die
Supernatural aidbi-Wan, obviously
Crossing the Threshold:deciding to help obi-wan, mos eisley
Belly of the Whale: either the Cantina or the Millenium falcon (since that's actually in the 'belly' of something that takes him off of his planet)
Road of Trials:everything else that happens until the end of ANH
Meeting with the Goddess:I actually don't think this is the first meeting with Leia but the very end of ANH, the love and achievement he feels while being awarded by Leia in front of the Alliance.
Temptation:this isn't exact, but luke abandons yoda's training. He momentarily rejects spiritual learning, though arguably it was what he should have done.
Atonement with father:I think the ESB fight with vader counts because here he sees his father for what he is, and has to deal with it.
Apostasis:Falling down the shaft, 'born again' through cloud city, proving that he values freedom and justice beyond his own life
The Ultimate boonk so i'm skipping the entirety of ROTJ up until the end, it's largely tying up loose ends honestly. But the end is a continuation of the Atonement, including the actual 'atoning' with vader's redemption. And the Boon? His father's love, the destruction of the empire, and truly being a Jedi.

So that really is the whole thing, but no return. however the rumors actually match pretty damn perfectly:

Refusal of Return:Luke, either from feeling out of touch with others now that he is more force-attuned, from fear of his own power, or some other yet unseen event, becomes a hermit much like Obi-Wan. The way that Luke feels so separate from his friends at the end of ROTJ plays into this.
Magic Flightotentially if there are actually 'jedi hunters', Luke will have to escape them. Otherwise this fits more into his earlier escape from the exploding death star 2.
Rescue from withoutotentially a large portion of the plot of The Force Awakens. Rey and fin find Luke and convince him to come out of hiding, perhaps having to fight evil forces to do so.
Crossing the Return Thresh-Hold/Master of Two worlds: Luke perhaps starts up a new Jedi Temple, or at least takes on an apprentice. He is now a Jedi Master, and a human being.
Freedom To Live: Luke passes on elaborated upon knowledge of Force Ghosts, and is truly unafraid of death because he understands the true nature of being one with the force.

I can see that all happening in 7, ending Luke's tale and allowing for Rey and Fin to have their own. But i can also see refusal of Return being 7, magic-flight and Rescue from Without being 8, and the rest 9.

 

I appreciate this being topic being posted again as I've kind of flunked Joseph Campbell. I know I've read them somewhere else in this VII board, but great to see. Thanks for enlightening me folks.

 

Agree.

And to your last point, I'd be much more interested in seeing Luke's Return spread across all three of the ST Episodes -- beginning Luke's journey in TFA with the "Refusal of Return" stage (exemplified in a self-imposed exile), and finally culminating with Luke's "Freedom to Live" by the end of Episode 9.

To try to squeeze it all in TFA may be technically possible, but I don't know that it's feasible to actually do so without things ending up feeling too rushed; with not enough attention paid.

I understand that folks are excited about seeing new heroes play a vital role in these films, too. But to me, there's no reason why giving the next-gen their due, while also taking advantage of the character -- the asset -- of Luke Skywalker by completing his Monomyth journey in a thoughtful and caring (as well well-executed and entertaining) manner, are two goals for the ST which cannot be harmonized. They needn't be mutually exclusive.

I mean, over the course of three feature films? There ought to be plenty of story and screen-time for both ideas to be accommodated.

Yep, we had a nice Monomyth topic a couple of years ago.

But now that we (think we) have more to go on (and as we learn more), it might be interesting to revisit the discussion.

 

Hopefully this thread will help me get a better understanding of the mythological path Luke might take.

 

Refusal: Luke failed to pass on his knowledge after 30 years.
Flight: Luke learns to accept his destiny.
Rescue: The new heroes aid Luke in some way.
Crossing: Luke shares his knowledge with the new heros. "pass the torch"
Master: Luke completes his destiny.
Freedom: Luke sacrifices himself.

 

I keep going back and forth on that final 'freedom to live' part, on whether that would require life. Because yes, sacrificing himself might show a fearlessness of death, but then he's dead. And in Star Wars, maybe that doesn't mean much if you can still materialize yourself from the ether, but it's still not really 'life'. I feel like Luke needs to have a complete understanding of that side of things while still being a part of the physical world in order to fulfill that final step. But then again, perhaps revelations about what it truly means to be one with the force will change all this.
I also find it interesting that you can pick different events and still hit every point up to Return, as jedi knight wax did. I feel both our timelines make a lot of sense.

 

I've been saying this for years, the ST would be the return. Sure there will be new young main characters, but their arc is to assist Luke complete his.

I think the Master of Two Worlds/Freedom to Live will refer to Luke's power taking Force ghosting to the next level and allow him to become corporeal at will (like Ben and Yoda did in one of the RotJ drafts). It's the next step. Jinn maintained his voice. Ben and Yoda could ghost. Luke maintains a physical presence.

 

George stuck to this; there is nothing to suggest J.J will.

 

I bet he will because its just good story structure and Star Wars is based on Cambells hero's journey.