The Future Of Luke Skywalker In ‘Star Wars’ According To Rian Johnson [Interview]
Luke Skywalker’s story inStar Wars: The Last Jedihas proven divisive for not just fans of the franchise,but alsoMark Hamillhimself.In my spoiler-filled discussion with writer/directorRian Johnson, we talked about the decisions he took with the iconic character and what this means for the famous Jedi Master inStar Wars: Episode 9and beyond.
Major spoilersforStar Wars: The Last Jedifollow.When did you decide that Luke Skywalker had to die inThe Last Jedi?
It was something very early on that started to feel right to me. It was a process. It was very early when I thought, when I kind of landed on where Luke’s head was at and what his arc was going to be in terms of moving from someone who’s decided the galaxy is better off without Luke and the Jedi to fully embracing the galaxy needs a legend to believe in. I’m going to put this on my shoulders and be the legend of Luke Skywalker for everybody.
When I knew that was his arc, I had the instant tinge of that means that’s the place for him to [die] because what else can he accomplish in the physical realm beyond that? That would be the place emotionally that would have the most impact for him to let himself go. […] I don’t know what’s gonna happen inEpisode 9at all, but there’s actually more potential for more interesting things in terms of his role in the final chapter if he moves into another realm.
He could be a Force ghost haunting Kylo Ren.
It’s fascinating, isn’t it? A lot more fascinating than him just tagging along with our heroes with a lightsaber. So to me, it opened up more potential and it seemed like having a full film that is Luke’s journey…it seemed like if there’s any place in the trilogy where it’s gonna have the most potent place, it would be here. But believe me, I wasn’t looking forward to doing it.
Peter Sciretta here again.
I know someStar Warsfans are angry that none of the human legacy characters survived for the ninth movie. It seems obvious that they were setting up a General Leia/Kylo Ren confrontation for that film, and that will sadly never happen. I think the idea of notcompletely"killing your past" and bringing Luke Skywalker back in a new form might be very exciting.
Remember, at the end of Luke Skywalker’s confrontation with Kylo Ren on Crait, he tells Ben Solo “See you around, kid.” While even Rian Johnson might not know exactly what J.J. Abrams will be doing withStar Wars: Episode 9, it seems to me that he is being set-up as a force ghost that will be haunting Kylo during this final chapter in the sequel trilogy. How cool of an idea is that?
