With the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, many fans new to the franchise — perhaps too young to remember the originals, episodes four through six — have questions, especially about Luke Skywalker.
The original character’s reemergence in the newest trilogy means there are plenty of younger fans without the background older fans have, and catching up on the entire epic series is one serious undertaking. Even if you probably should watch all the older movies, there’s hardly time before Star Wars: The Last Jedi launches into theaters tomorrow, Thursday, December 14.
Fear not, young Jedis. We have all the answers to your burning Luke Skywalker questions so that when he appears on screen in the newest chapter of the story, you won’t be wondering, who the heck is this guy?
Who played Luke Skywalker?
The actor who played Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill, is the same actor playing the aged Jedi in the newest chapters of the story, including episodes seven and eight.
Mark Hamill starred alongside the late Carrie Fisher in Star Wars episodes four, five and six (better known as A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, respectively). That meant a ton of screen time. In the newest trilogy, he’s only had a split-second appearance thus far, but The Last Jedi stands to change that and bring him back into the hearts of Star Wars fans spanning multiple generations.
“I didn’t know I’d be a literal cliff-hanger, actually standing on a cliff,” Hamill told People about his appearance literally right before the end of The Force Awakens. The glimpse of Luke, though welcome by many of the franchise’s fans, wasn’t enough to reveal anything about who the character has become all these years later. But that’s all changing in The Last Jedi.
“Luke says, ‘It’s time for the Jedi to end,’” Hamill revealed to People, adding, “This comes from the most optimistic character in the original trilogy.” Like many fans of the original movies, Hamill told the magazine that he was “stunned” about this change.
But that leads us into our next question.
Is Luke Skywalker a Jedi?
Well that’s a resounding yes! We already gave that one away.
Is Luke Skywalker Darth Vader?
Although some people were sceptical about the truth of Darth Vader’s infamous “Luke, I am your father” line — James Earl Jones included when he first read the script — the dark lord is absolutely a different person entirely than Luke Skywalker.
What is Luke Skywalker’s home planet?
Although that question also gets tricky, Luke Skywalker was raised on the desert planet of Tatooine, while his twin sister Leia was taken to Alderaan to be raised the adoptive daughter of Senator Bail Organa and a princess to boot. So if you count his home planet as the one on which he grew up, you’re thinking of Tatooine.
But if you consider the planet on which Luke Skywalker was born to be his true home planet, the answer would be Coruscant. He and Leia were born here before being separated and sent to be raised by different adoptive families.
Is Luke Skywalker Rey’s father?
NOTE: We’re going to answer this question, but it contains spoilers about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so if you don’t want anything revealed until you see the movie, skip over this question.
First of all, no, Luke Skywalker is not Rey’s father. So who are Rey’s parents? Even by the end of The Force Awakens, it’s really unclear. Fans online spun elaborate theories that gave the girl a claim to many famous Star Wars families, from the Kenobis to the Skywalkers. Sadly, or not so sadly depending on how you look at it, she doesn’t belong to any of these clans.
In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it’s revealed that Rey’s parents were just average people. That’s right, they were nobodies. Kylo Ren sneers that they were probably deadbeats that sold her for money just to buy booze before ending up in pauper’s graves. But, isn’t that kind of amazing? That a girl who came from literally nothing could make so much of herself? We choose to think of it that way.
Who raised Luke Skywalker?
After being born to Jedi Knight Anakin, who later becomes Darth Vader, along with his twin sister Leia, Luke Skywalker is sent to be raised on Tatooine by Beru and Owen Lars. (You might known him in the films as Uncle Owen.)
Owen, a moisture farmer on the desert planet, is actually the step-brother of Anakin through his father’s remarriage to Shmi Skywalker, a former slave. So, though he’s not technically Luke’s uncle by blood, the title is somewhat appropriate.
