What has undoubtedly been one of the biggest questions in the minds of fans of
Star Wars is the one regarding how long Luke Skywalker will appear in the movie, and what his role in the story could be. Recently, I’ve come across some information from sources I trust that have really made me think about the character’s role in the movie; below is my argument/educated guess as to when and where we’ll see Luke in
The Force Awakens.
Outright spoilers and potential spoilers ahead!
For starters, a key reason
why this rumor has been heavily criticized
is that, from a narrative standpoint, Luke seems to be a living MacGuffin. Much of the plot – as far as we know – revolves around his lightsaber and figuring out where he is. So the idea of ending the movie right when they find him seems hugely anti-climactic. It would be akin to ending
A New Hope as soon as they hand the Death Star plans to the Rebel Alliance, skipping over what we see the Rebels do with the knowledge that they’ve stolen from the Empire (namely, how to blow up the Death Star) and instead save it for a follow-up. To me, this development doesn’t have a pay-off and instead screams “See you in a year and a half for
Episode VIII!” like a post-credits scene would. This does not seem like the kind of thing that J. J. Abrams would want to do as a filmmaker.
Therefore, the question we should ask ourselves now appears to be “When does Luke show up in the new movie, and for how long will he appear?”
I can now say, with confidence, that there is a flashback sequence in the movie, and that you will see a younger version of Luke in it. I have confirmation that
the flashback sequence is one that spans multiple years, featuring a sequence that I can definitely say takes place on Bespin; I also believe – but cannot confirm – that the sequence later extends to a scene that takes place on the desert planet seen in the second teaser, based on MSW’s outline (more details on the flashback sequence can be heard tomorrow in our second podcast). From what I have gathered,
two major focuses of flashback are Luke Skywalker and his first lightsaber – the one Anakin used. I believe that
the flashback sequence described on MSW
is framed by Maz Kanata using the power of
psychometry
on the lightsaber. This sequence exists so that the characters and the audience learn more about its user and his whereabouts, along with a quick history lesson about where the weapon has been in the thirty-plus years that have passed between
The Empire Strikes Back and
The Force Awakens.
This last section covers the climax of the film and Luke’s possible appearance in it. If you do not want to be spoiled, stop here.
Luke apparently appears in the last part of the movie, intervening in the final duel between Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren just as it seems that all hope is lost. Luke apparently fights as if he is spiritually possessed by the Force itself – and while he is powerful, his abilities aren’t described as being insanely overpowered. (Nothing along the lines of being able to use the Force to rip a Star Destroyer out of orbit, but still impressive.) He is ultimately able to repel Kylo Ren. This source has also told me that Luke is seen in at least four different night shots in the movie; while some of these shots might be from the flashback battle, I believe that at least some of them come from the climax of the film. I have heard very similar stories from two other sources. These statements paint the picture that the “search for Luke”, “destroy the superweapon”, and “save Rey” storylines converge at the snow planet where the First Order is stationed, which sounds like the classic set-up for a climax.