Star Wars: 11 Things That Make No Sense About Luke Skywalker

Because he has been a part of the Star Wars franchise for such a long time, there are bound to be some inconsistencies when addressing the character of Luke Skywalker. After all, the original trilogy began all the way back with Star Wars (later retitled A New Hope) in 1977. Between then and now, there has been a lot of time for things to change about the character, both for the better and for the worse.

As a character best known for his heroic nature and his willingness to jump into the heart of danger if it means saving friends and family, Luke is beloved by audiences far and wide. However, he was mired in controversy after the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi due to the drastic change in character he had seemingly gone through off-screen. This shows that the character, perhaps because he is so beloved, is not safe from criticism, and this has even prompted viewers to start noticing the logical flaws in the character.

11 Luke Is Blonde & The Rest Of His Family Is Brunette

Even His Grandmother Sports Brunette Hair

When taking a look at the Skywalker family tree, one thing is immediately apparent. Out of every single member of the family, Luke Skywalker is the only one with blonde hair. Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Leia Organa, and even his grandmother, Shmi Skywalker, all have brunette hair. The only time that this changes is when Anakin is a young boy, as he is shown to have a darker blonde hair color in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

While there is always a possibility for things to error considering his father’s changing hair color, it is almost impossible for Luke to have been granted his famous mane of 70s styled blonde hair. Brunette hair is a dominant genetic trait, and if everyone in the family had brunette hair, it only makes sense that Luke would, too. Instead, he stands out among the rest of his family, his hair blonde in spite of this.

10 Luke Doesn’t Seem To Feel Much For The Death Of Owen And Beru

Their Deaths Are Quickly Pushed Aside For The Main Story

One question has plagued the minds of audiences since the release of the original movie in the series. What about Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru? It is clear in the beginning of the movie that Luke cares very much for them, and when he arrives home to find their home and bodies burned by the Empire, he is initially distraught.

This grief does not last long, however, as the moment he leaves to go with Obi-Wan Kenobi, his aunt and uncle are never mentioned again. In fact, it is not until their brief return in the prequel trilogy that Luke is seen with them again, and then once again later down the line in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Despite the fact that they essentially raised him from birth, there is no sign that Luke continued to care about them or mourn their loss later in life.

9 He Lacks His Characteristic Personality In The TV Shows

Luke’s Personality Is Colder And More Robotic

It was once thought that Mark Hamill would never be seen playing a young Luke Skywalker again. After all, he is a man currently in his seventies and had not played a young Luke since the ending of the original trilogy in Return of the Jedi. However, with the help of modern technology, Hamill returned to the role with a surprise appearance in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 8 “Chapter 16: The Rescue.” He returned again in The Book of Boba Fett, seen training a young Grogu in the ways of the Force.

Despite the fact that this Luke looks very much like the original, his personality almost feels like a shell of itself. The Luke Skywalker of the modern era feels hollow in comparison to his original trilogy representation, which was so energetic and full of life even after becoming a Jedi. It seems that now Disney has leaned in to making him as sage-like as possible to reflect the Jedi ways of old to the point that any personality he once had is simply gone.

Related

Luke Skywalker In The Mandalorian Explained: Jedi Order & Baby Yoda Future

Luke Skywalker trains Grogu between The Mandalorian season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett, but what does this mean for the Jedi Order and its future?

8 Luke Left In Exile When The Galaxy Needed Him

Family, Friends, And Countless Innocents Are Left To Fend For Themselves

If Luke Skywalker is known for anything, it is his singular determination to improve the galaxy and keep it safe. Not only did he help to stop Darth Sidious and his Empire from terrorizing the galaxy, but he also worked to rebuild the Jedi after the war was over. He is a character that cares deeply about the safety of others, as well as the part he can play in keeping others safe.

Perhaps in spite of these facts, Luke is nowhere to be seen at the beginning of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It is eventually revealed later on that, despite the fact the First Order rules and countless innocent people are dying at their hands, Luke has exiled himself to the planet Ahch-To. Any other version of Luke would have been in the middle of the fight in order to make sure that as many people were safe as possible, but the Luke of the sequel trilogy chose to hide instead – despite his friends and family being in danger.

7 His Appearance In The Last Jedi Is Contradictory

Luke’s Personality And Beliefs Change Without Much Prompting

Aside from the fact that Luke’s character has completely changed by the time viewers see him in The Last Jedi, his reasoning and motivations change frequently throughout the movie as well. It is as if there is no consistency to what he believes, though this can mostly be chalked up to writing errors in the script. Throughout the span of the movie, Luke goes from saying that Kylo Ren is too far gone to be saved to comforting Leia, saying that no one is ever really gone.

This is only one example in a movie full of characterization issues. Between flipping back and forth on whether he actually cares about the sacred Jedi texts and deciding that the Jedi should end now because of a mistake made before he was born, Luke is all over the place in The Last Jedi. There could have been compelling reasons for Luke to change between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, but the reasons given simply do not make consistent sense.

6 Luke Knows Nothing About The Jedi In A New Hope

The Jedi Order Had Only Fallen 19 Years Ago

When Luke is initially introduced to the concept of the Jedi by Obi-Wan in A New Hope, he acts as though he has no idea what they were. While this could have made sense when the movie initially released, since then, the prequels have revealed that the Jedi Order only fell nineteen years before the beginning of the original trilogy. Order 66 was going on in Luke’s lifetime, executed when he was born, with the ramifications still lingering in the years after.

Even the Obi-Wan Kenobi series directly shows the effects of Order 66 on the Lars home specifically, with Reva coming to kill Luke in an attempt at getting revenge on Anakin Skywalker. Keeping this in mind, Luke had to know at least something about the Jedi and the terms surrounding their extermination. It is possible that Owen and Beru kept some things from him, like the true identity of his father, but at least something had to have slipped through the cracks along the way.

5 Luke Chose The Birthplace Of The Jedi To Cut Himself Off From The Force

If He Was Disillusioned With The Jedi, Why Live In Exile Surrounded By Their History?

For a man distraught by the ways of the Jedi, Luke chooses an interesting place to live in exile. Ahch-To is best known as the birthplace of the Jedi Order, not only incredibly powerful in the Force, but also completely covered in its history. There are reminders of the Prime Jedi and their lives everywhere, including murals created to depict the balance in the Force.

Despite the fact he wants to bring about an end to the Jedi, citing their many mistakes and most importantly their hubris, Luke makes the conscious decision to live among the ruins of the Jedi’s oldest home. If he truly wanted to get away from the ways of the Jedi, there are countless different worlds he could have exiled himself to and lived peacefully, truly bringing about an end to the Jedi. Instead, he chose Ahch-To, living among the ghosts of the past and almost waiting for Rey to come and find him.

4 He Recognized His Father’s Force Ghost In Return Of The Jedi

But He Never Saw Anakin At The Height Of His Health

One of the main story beats of The Empire Strikes Back is the massive reveal that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. Not only does Luke not believe this at first, but he even goes as far as to say that it is impossible. This later leads to another interaction between the two in Return of the Jedi, where Darth Vader defeats the Emperor and takes off his helmet to look at his son with his own eyes, then dying as well.

Although Luke saw his father’s face before his death, Darth Vader looks nothing like he once did as Anakin Skywalker. Decades had passed since then, and he had been permanently scarred from his battle with Obi-Wan on Mustafar. It makes no sense that Luke would immediately recognize the Force ghost of his father when Anakin appears at the end of Return of the Jedi, surrounded by Obi-Wan and Yoda, because he simply had never seen him in that state before.

Related

Every Member Of The Skywalker Family In Star Wars Canon & Legends

The Skywalkers are the central characters of the Star Wars saga, and their family has grown to encompass several members in canon and Legends.

3 Some Star Wars Scenes Led To A Fun “Two Lukes” Theory

Is The “Bigger Luke Theory” A Joke, Or Is It A Serious Theory?

Throughout the many years that Star Wars has been a part of cinematic history, viewers have come up with countless theories to either explain away inconsistencies in the movies or to predict what might come out in the future. Audiences are even doing so now, piecing together the clues left in each episode of The Acolyte as they air, in order to discover what will come next and what it will mean for the franchise as a whole. The “Bigger Luke Theory” is one such theory, existing almost as a fun parody of this sort of fan behavior.

Essentially, the Bigger Luke Theory is the theory that there is a bigger version of Luke Skywalker that is only a few centimeters taller, appearing in a select number of scenes throughout the original trilogy. This theory was born out of the realization that there are some scenes where, in comparison to Han Solo, Luke looks to be standing at different heights. There seems to be two schools of thought to this theory, with one saying there are in fact two different canon Luke Skywalkers, and the other claiming a slightly taller lookalike actor replaced Mark Hamill for certain scenes.

2 Luke Skywalker Uses Force Choke In Jabba’s Palace

The Force Choke Is Considered A Dark Side Maneuver

Luke Skywalker, like any other Jedi, is no stranger to temptation to the dark side. However, compared to many of the Jedi seen throughout the series, Luke comes across as one that has an easier time sticking to the light. This is especially true in his youth, where he is constantly seen helping those around them however he can.

This makes it all the more baffling that in Jabba’s palace, it appears that Luke uses the Force to choke one of Jabba’s Gamorrean guards. The Force choke ability is one that is exclusively used in the dark side of the Force, frequently employed by Luke’s father to intimidate or even kill enemies and allies alike. However, it is possible that he did not use the Force to choke the guard at all, and instead Luke used a Jedi mind trick inside the palace.

1 Luke Tries To Kill Ben Solo

He Does Not Offer His Nephew The Same Redemption As His Father

Continuing the trend of mischaracterization that occurs throughout The Last Jedi, in perhaps one of the most baffling decisions by the character to date, it is revealed that Luke once attempted to kill his nephew Ben Solo. He did so after sensing the darkness rising within him. Frightened by what Ben could become, he attempted to kill him before things spiraled out of control, but it was this single action that fueled Ben’s transformation into Kylo Ren.

It simply does not make sense for Luke to so willingly choose violence over the possibility of redemption. One of the most important moments he ever had as a character was taking part in the redemption of Darth Vader, giving him the hope to believe in the light side once again and creating one of the most important scenes in all of Star Wars. The sequel trilogy seems to forget that Anakin Skywalker ever existed, except for the moments where Kylo Ren takes inspiration from the actions of Darth Vader.

Luke Skywalker

The son of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Luke was brought up on the desert planet Tatooine. Initially mentored by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke fired the fateful shot that destroyed the Death Star, and he became a rebel hero. Despite the fears of Obi-Wan and Yoda, Luke’s faith in his father was proved well-founded when Vader returned to the light. With the Emperor defeated, Luke dedicated himself to bringing back the Jedi; his first attempt ended in tragedy due to Palpatine’s manipulations, but Luke’s legacy lives on in Rey.

Died

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi

Alliance

Jedi

Race

Human

Expand