Where’s Luke Skywalker? That’s been the prevailing question arising from the Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens trailer that debuted a week ago tonight. There are many theories floating around, and director/co-writer J.J. Abrams finally chimed in when cornered by the AP about the mystery.
For everyone suggesting that Luke is absent from the trailer that’s not entirely true. As seen above, Luke’s robotic hand and his robed back make a brief appearance as he reaches out to put that hand onto his trusty astromech companion, R2-D2. Mark Hamill confirmed this his Luke with his sly, “hiding in plain sight” comment dropped on Twitter.
I’m going to delve into potential Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoilers speculation territory so proceed at your own risk.
There are persistent rumors that the scene featuring Luke’s arm and robotic hand are part of a flashback sequence that will date back to sometime between The Force Awakens and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. This sequence will explain what went wrong in Luke’s life and why he has put himself into seclusion during the events of the film.
Much of the film regards our new heroes including Rey and Finn searching for Luke, and possibly the villain Kylo Ren also on the hunt for the Jedi Knight. The first present-day sighting of Luke isn’t supposed to occur until the film’s final act — if not final scenes.
When pressed with this question by the AP, J.J. Abrams answered somewhat cryptically but did confirm that the lack of Luke in the trailer was “no accident” and we’ll have to wait to see the finished film to find out why.
