Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Luke Thought Kylo Ren Was The Chosen One
So is that why he's so upset?
EW have just released a major information dump related to The Last Jedi, with some huge revelations and a lot more story information than we've received so far. There's first looks at new characters and creatures and a definite shape of the plot is beginning to come together - as well as the inevitable suggestion that we won't get full answers to the mysteries around Rey's parentage, who Snoke is and what happened to Luke Skywalker.
They've got to keep you interested for episode IX after all.
One of the most interesting pieces of information relating to Luke's backstory that we do get to find out, though, is what his relationship was with Kylo Ren, and a big hint at why he seems to be turning his back on the Force. He thought his nephew was the Chosen One.
You'd think, given his family history, that he'd be reluctant to go quite so heavy on backing a new Chosen One - you know, since doing the same with his father almost cost the Universe its freedom.
Mark Hamill spoke to Entertainment Weekly as part of their excellent The Last Jedi preview and confirmed their dynamic prior to Kylo's turn to darkness:
“[Luke] made a huge mistake in thinking that his nephew was the chosen one, so he invested everything he had in Kylo, much like Obi-Wan did with my character. And he is betrayed, with tragic consequences. Luke feels responsible for that. That’s the primary obstacle he has to rejoining the world and his place in the Jedi hierarchy, you know? It’s that guilt, that feeling that it’s his fault, that he didn’t detect the darkness in him until it was too late.”
The "tragic consequences" are likely to involve Luke's other Jedi students, while it's also interesting that Hamill mentions a Jedi hierarchy. Aside from him, there surely isn't a hierarchy to belong to? Is that a little more revealing than it initially appears?
The key thing to understand here is that this all sets up further "rhymes" in Star Wars lore: Luke is essentially repeating the sins of the past despite his prior awareness of what empowering the Dark Side accidentally can do. And Luke's assertion from the trailer that the Jedi must end is clearly his conscious attempt to stop the cycle of repetition. He is now more acutely aware of the Jedi's role in creating their own nemeses, after all, so it's no surprise he's come to that conclusion.
There are still a few key questions here, like how Ben was influenced to fall to the Dark Side (Anakin's path was a lot more irresistible with the Emperor so close to him), whether Luke may have decided to turn Kylo in order to bring balance by ending both the Dark Side and the Light, and whether we will now see a new Chosen One.
The smart money would suggest that's what we'll see of Rey, but if Luke wants to avoid repeating the past, he will undoubtedly resist the call to train her.
Are you excited for The Last Jedi? Share your thoughts below in the comments thread.