How Luke Skywalker Became 'The Last Jedi'

Luke was born at the end of the Clone Wars to Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala. After Anakin became Darth Vader and Padmé died in labor, Obi-Wan Kenobi brought Luke to live with the boy’s Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on Tatooine.

Luke dreamed of a life more exciting than that of a farm boy. Like his father before him, he was a gifted pilot. Adventure was in his blood. But Owen was a protective man and didn’t want Luke to make Anakin’s mistakes. So he kept Obi-Wan at a distance as much as possible. Owen thought Obi-Wan was dangerous; if Obi-Wan couldn’t protect Anakin, how could he protect Luke?

That changed when he made a trip to the ruins of Jedha, a holy world synonymous with the Jedi Order. It was the world that the Death Star devastated in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an act that wiped out an ancient Jedi city. The ruins of Jedha showed Luke the lengths the Empire was willing to go to in order to destroy the memory of the Jedi. For the first time, the hatred that the dark side had for the Jedi became clear to him.

Along the way, Luke learned about Jyn Erso and the other heroes of Rogue One. Luke may have destroyed the Death Star and gotten the glory, but if it wasn’t for Jyn and her friends stealing the Death Star plans, Luke never would’ve become a hero.

Luke had heard about the dark side, but he never had to face it until Darth Vader defeated him and revealed that he was Luke’s father. In the beginning of Empire, Luke was a reckless hotshot who thought he knew everything. By its end, he learned that his journey was just beginning. Yoda was right to tell him he had to unlearn everything he had learned.

By the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke discovered the lesson that even Obi-Wan and Yoda, in all of their wisdom, failed to learn: the true strength of a Jedi comes not from defeating your enemy, but finding alternatives to fighting.

Luke battled Vader during the Battle of Endor, but in doing so nearly fell to the dark side. The Emperor pitted father against son in hopes that Luke would let his anger and hate take over. But Luke tossed aside his lightsaber, and the Emperor nearly killed him. But Luke pleaded with his father for help, and it was this act of compassion that reawakened the light inside of Darth Vader.

Anakin Skywalker returned, and with his dying strength killed the Emperor.

In the skies over Endor, Luke became the truest Jedi of them all.

One of these apprentices was his nephew, Ben Solo, the son of Princess Leia and Han Solo. There was something different about Ben, something special that even the forces of the dark side could sense. He was targeted by Supreme Leader Snoke, the shadowy leader of the First Order. Leia realized this and wanted Luke to train Ben, but even Luke couldn’t save Ben from Snoke’s corruption.

Ben fell to the dark side and took on the name Kylo Ren. He turned against his family and destroyed the new generation of Jedi, leaving the temple a burning ruin. Everything Luke worked to build went down in flames. This was the lesson of Anakin, something Luke couldn’t glean from all the ancient history he’d found — one Jedi can bring it all crashing down.

Where the Expanded Universe showed us the ideal version of the great Luke Skywalker, the canon Star Wars story shows what happens when life gets derailed, in this case a murderous nephew. Luke found himself at a crossroads: he could try again and fix his problems, or he could run away from them.

He chose the latter.

Luke left everything behind and went in search of the forgotten world of Ahch-To, home of the first Jedi temple. He found it and lived on an island, alone and cut off from the rest of the galaxy. He lived in fear of his past. The brave Jedi Master was reduced to someone who thought the galaxy was better off without him.

Everything we know about The Last Jedi suggests that Luke thought this was the right way to deal with his problems. In the movie’s teaser trailer, he says, “I only know one truth: it’s time for the Jedi to end.”

But why?

The history of the galaxy that Luke learned is filled with wars between the Jedi and the dark side. It was an endless cycle of destruction and renewal. Is it fair to say the Jedi were part of the problem? Luke certainly seems to think so; he hides himself away on a remote island so the galaxy could sort out its issues without the Jedi.

Luke knows “one” truth, but maybe believing that is just easier than dealing with the hard truth that life doesn’t always go the way it’s planned.

Luke may have disappeared, but he left behind a legacy for a galaxy that thinks of him pretty much the way we thought of him. There are stories about a great Jedi who helped bring down the Empire. Even Rey, growing up on a backwater planet like Jakku, heard tales of his adventures. In that way, she’s like the audience that wasn’t around to see the original movies in theaters. She’s heard the stories about Luke her whole life, but she wasn’t there when they happened. She knows only the myth.

Rey will be just as surprised as we are to have found a scared hermit instead of a Jedi Master.

Luke’s journey from proud Jedi Knight to “it’s time for the Jedi to end” is one of the most pivotal narrative arcs in Star Wars. He’s nothing if not a character who defies expectations. But as versatile as Luke might be, it seems obvious now that he could never save the galaxy on his own. He needs new heroes to help him remember how to hope again.

Enter Rey.

Rey is on a journey of her own making. Just like Luke before her, Rey wants to know everything about her past. In The Last Jedi, that journey will intersect with Luke’s and she may be the key to liberate him from his self-imposed exile.

Rey is nothing if not optimistic, and Star Wars is an ever-hopeful franchise that shows us new heroes going on even greater journeys than the Jedi who came before them. Return of the Jedi told us that Luke was the truest Jedi who had ever lived, but maybe his destiny is to help Rey become an even greater Jedi.

We can only hope that Luke isn’t the last Jedi after all.