Star Wars: Luke Skywalker Probably Doesn't Have A Wife In The Last Jedi Novelisation

After purchasing Lucasfilm in 2012 and planning their own Star Wars movie series, Disney decided to wipe out twenty years of Expanded Universe material from canon like the Death Star destroying Alderaan. Gone, amongst many other things, were Grand Admiral Thrawn, Jacen and Jaina Solo, and Luke Skywalker's wife, Mara Jade.

Now, though, they are reintroducing some of these Legends. Thrawn was re-canonised in Star Wars Rebels, Kylo Ren is based (to a degree) on Jacen, and the novelisation of The Last Jedi might be bringing back Mara Jade. Or, y'know, it's not. A user on the Star Wars Leaks subreddit got their hands on some early grabs from the forthcoming book, with the opening line of the Prologue reading:

"Luke Skywalker stood in the cooling sands of Tatooine, his wife by his side."

At first that seems like a huge deal: Luke, back on Tatooine, is married. Jedi don't tend to marry, so it's a major change for the character, and would mean a more tragic backstory for the character in the gap between Return of the Jedi and the new trilogy. It also fits with the EU, where Luke did indeed marry a woman called Mara Jade at that time, with her becoming one of the EU's most popular figures.

Unfortunately for her fans, though, it doesn't look like she's actually going to be back in canon, nor is Luke really getting a wife. Looking at the comments on the Leaks post, and it seems that the line actually comes from a dream sequence, with Luke imagining how life might have turned out differently had he stayed on Tatooine.

The novel is scheduled for release on March 6, so things should be cleared up further then, but don't go expecting Luke to have actually been married at any point. We do know, though, that it will include Han Solo's funeral, a scene between Rose and Paige Tico, and further exploration of Canto Bight.

Do you want Mara Jade to be re-canonised? Share your thoughts down in the comments.