Luke Skywalker

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Luke Skywalker
The Last Jedi
First appearanceStar Wars (1977)
Created byGeorge Lucas
Portrayed by
Voiced byVarious [a]
In-universe information
Full nameLuke Skywalker
SpeciesHuman
GenderMale
Occupation
  • Moisture farmer
  • Jedi Apprentice
  • Jedi Knight
Affiliation
Family
Spouse
Ben Skywalker Legends
MastersObi-Wan Kenobi
Yoda
ApprenticesLeia Organa
Ben Solo
Rey
Grogu
HomeworldTatooine

Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the

Ben Solo and mentors the scavenger Rey. Luke is the twin brother of Leia Organa. The character is portrayed by Mark Hamill
in six films and two television series. Luke also appears in animated series, novels, comics, and video games.

Creation and development

Star Wars (1977)

George Lucas considered various characterizations for the protagonist of the original Star Wars film.[d] The possibilities included a 60-year-old grizzled war hero, a Jedi Master, a dwarf, and a woman.[3][4] Luke's original surname was "Starkiller", and it remained in the script until a few months into filming. It was dropped due to what Lucas called "unpleasant connotations" with Charles Manson, who became a "star killer" in 1969 when he murdered the well-known actress Sharon Tate.[5][6] Lucas replaced the problematic name "Starkiller" with "Skywalker".[7]

Return of the Jedi (1983)

An alternate ending to the film reportedly featured Luke disappearing into the wilderness "like

spaghetti Westerns."[8]

The Force Awakens (2015)

Luke's lack of screen time in

The Force Awakens was due to concerns by screenwriter Michael Arndt that his presence would distract from Rey, leading to an agreement that he be removed from the screen and instead become a plot device.[9][10] Hamill attended meetings for script readings, and helped conceal Luke's role in the film; instead of dialogue, he read stage directions. According to director and co-writer J. J. Abrams, this allowed Hamill to remain involved and his reading helped make a "better experience for everyone."[11]

Portrayal

Mark Hamill was originally cast as Luke for Star Wars (1977). Other actors who auditioned for the role include Robby Benson, William Katt, Kurt Russell, and Charles Martin Smith.[12][13] Hamill portrays the character in all the films of the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy, and in the television series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Aidan Barton plays Luke as an infant in Revenge of the Sith (2005), while Grant Feely portrays him as a ten-year-old child in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).

Hamill was injured in a car accident in January 1977, fracturing his nose and cheekbone.[14] Lucas justified the slight change to Hamill's likeness this would impose upon the sequel film, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), by asserting that in the interim between the two films, Luke had been fighting for the Rebel Alliance. It was speculated that the Wampa attack at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back was written in to explain his facial injuries, but Lucas specifically disputed this in the DVD commentary of the film.[15]

Hamill voices the character in

Return of the Jedi radio drama. Luke also appears in video games, in which he is voiced by a variety of different actors.[a]

Appearances in the official canon

Original trilogy

Star Wars

Luke first appears in Star Wars (1977). He lives on a moisture farm on the desert planet Tatooine with his uncle

Tusken Raiders by Obi-Wan Kenobi, an old hermit. R2-D2 plays the message from Leia, in which she asks Obi-Wan to help her defeat the Galactic Empire. Obi-Wan says that he and Luke's father were once Jedi Knights, and that Luke's father was murdered by a traitorous Jedi named Darth Vader. Obi-Wan presents Luke with his father's lightsaber and offers to take him to Alderaan and train him in the ways of the Force
. Luke declines his offer, feeling obligated to his family's farm.

Luke changes his mind when he finds that

. He and other Rebels attempt to destroy the Death Star by launching torpedoes into an exhaust port. As he approaches the port, Luke hears Obi-Wan's voice, telling him to "trust his feelings". He switches off his ship's missile guidance system, instead using the Force to guide the missiles. After destroying the Death Star, Luke receives a medal of honor from Leia.

The Empire Strikes Back

Mark Hamill in 1980

Luke's second film appearance is in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, Luke is now a commander in the Rebel Alliance. While on a mission on the ice planet

AT-ATs
, but he is forced to retreat when his wingmen are overwhelmed. Escaping in his X-wing, he travels to Dagobah and meets Yoda. He undergoes rigorous Jedi training, quickly increasing his power in the Force.

During his training, Luke sees a vision of his friends in danger. Against both Obi-Wan and Yoda's advice to stay and complete his training, he travels to

Sith Lord easily overpowers Luke and severs his right hand. Vader then reveals that he is Luke's father, and offers him the chance to turn to the dark side of the Force and rule the galaxy at his side. Resolving that he would rather die than become an agent of evil, Luke throws himself into a deep reactor chasm. He survives, but is pulled into a garbage chute to the underside of Cloud City, and left hanging perilously onto a vane rod. Leia, flying away from Cloud City in the Millennium Falcon, senses Luke's call out to her with the Force, and turns the ship around to save him. Aboard the ship, he hears Vader telepathically telling him that it is his destiny to join the dark side. Luke's severed hand is replaced with a bio-mechanical
one.

Return of the Jedi (1983)

A year later, Luke is a Jedi Knight

rancor. When Luke kills the rancor, he, Han, and Chewbacca are sentenced to death in the Sarlacc pit
. Luke escapes with R2-D2's help, saving his friends and destroying Jabba's sail barge.

Luke returns to Dagobah, and learns from a dying Yoda that Vader is indeed his father. Luke then learns from Obi-Wan's spirit that he has a twin sister, whom he immediately realizes is Princess Leia. Both Jedi Masters tell Luke that he must face Vader again to finish his training and save the galaxy, but he is disturbed by the idea of killing his own father.

Arriving on Endor as part of a Rebel commando squad, Luke surrenders to Vader in an attempt to bring his father back from the dark side of the Force. Vader brings Luke to the second Death Star orbiting around Endor, where his master, Emperor Palpatine, tries to tempt Luke to the dark side, revealing his plan to destroy the Rebel fleet. Luke lashes out at the Emperor with his lightsaber, but Vader blocks his strike, and father and son once again duel with each other. Luke regains control of his emotions until Vader senses that Luke has a sister, and threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not submit. Luke snaps and overpowers Vader, severing his father's mechanical right hand. The Emperor orders Luke to kill Vader and take his place. Luke looks at his own bionic hand and realizes that he is on the verge of suffering his father's fate. He casts his lightsaber aside, declaring himself a Jedi.

Furious, the Emperor tortures Luke with

funeral pyre
, giving him a proper Jedi funeral. During the Rebels' victory celebrations on Endor, Luke sees his father's spirit appear alongside those of Obi-Wan and Yoda.

Prequel trilogy