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Luke Skywalker had dissentious roles in bothStar war : The Last JediandStar Wars : The boost of Skywalker , but he was used far more effectively in the former . The hero ofStar Wars ' original trilogy , there was a lot of ballyhoo around the retort of Luke ( and role player Mark Hamill ) when Disney purchased Lucasfilm and announced they were produce a continuation trilogy . Three decennium after he last appeared , catch up with one of cinema ’s most far-famed protagonists was a tantalizing prospect .
Of of course , things did n’t quite go the way mass expected . Hamill did render inStar state of war : The Force Awakens , but only in the very final view of the film . While there was some dashing hopes expressed over the fact he was hidden away for the intact film , it did at least set the degree for a much big role to come . Hamill took midway stage ( or at least close to it ) inThe Last Jedi , and then come back one last time to round out theSkywalker sagainThe Rise of Skywalker .
come to : Star Wars : procession of Skywalker ’s Luke Is Very dissimilar To Last Jedi ’s
Far from being the triumphant return key of the galaxy ’s cracking hope , however , this was a edition of Luke Skywalker who was older and wiser , taking on a very dissimilar role to the one he had in the original trilogy . While that admit for Hamill to add new shades to him , it also caused some alarm amongStar Warsfans , and the differing approaches ofThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalkermeant that there was footling cohesion between the portrayals . That being said , the approach taken withLuke inThe Last Jedi , while provoking a backlash , was much better than what was done inThe Rise of Skywalker .
Last Jedi & Rise of Skywalker Both Had Controversial Portrayals Of Luke
AlthoughStar Wars : The Last JediandStar Wars : The Rise of Skywalkerare both part of Disney ’s subsequence trilogy , they ’re terminated antonym in terms of motion-picture show - they take their case in different directions , and tonally experience at betting odds with one another . Perhaps the only honest unifier ofThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalkeris the rebound , at least insofar as each movie suffer from one , albeit for contrast reasons , and indeed because of their altogether different approaches toStar Wars . The Last Jediwas criticize for several of its more challenging or surprising plot of ground elements , while The Rise of Skywalker was then panned in turning for moving away from them ( alongside several other storytelling issues ) .
Luke Skywalker stage the division and debate over the two pic in a microcosm : to those who dislikedThe Last Jedi , he ’s a great deterrent example of what the pic got wrong . Far get rid of from the hero fans thought they know , this is a Luke was has turn himself off from the Force , and even thrash his lightsaber away like it ’s meaningless . Seeing the person who brought down the Empire , and redeemedAnakin Skywalker , release into this - and what ’s more , someone who even catch fire his lightsaber on his own nephew - was find out in some quarters as a betrayal of who Luke was , and that plays out in a macro sense when talking about whatThe Last Jedirepresents toStar Warscanon for those same fans .
Conversely , The Rise of Skywalker ’s Luke was the complete opposite ; a 180 flip fromThe Last Jedi , he may be a Force shade but he experience more like the Luke of old , catching the lightsaber and advance Rey in her frustration of Palpatine . For those who roll Rise of Skywalkeras nothing but a response toThe Last Jediand a nostalgia - fest , then Luke comes to represent the worst that movie has to volunteer too .
interrelate : Rise of Skywalker Retcons Last Jedi ’s Ending & Luke Skywalker ’s Sacrifice
The Rise of Skywalker’s Luke Was A Reductive, Weaker Version
Luke ’s destruction inStar Wars : The Last Jediwas never likely to break off him from appearing in some way inThe Rise of Skywalker , given it was bill as the end of the Skywalker saga , and as such as series that he himself was at the very center of . It was no surprisal , then , when he re - seem as a Force spectre on Ahch - To , but the nature of his appearance was a dashing hopes . This Luke felt at odds with the one seen inThe Last Jedi- and very much by design - as he catches the saber , give Leia ’s lightsaber to Rey , and sends her off on her jovial way to shoot down the Dark Lord of the Sith that is Palpatine .
There are a couple of problems with this Luke . foremost , as withThe Rise of Skywalkeron a broader scale , it feel like pandering ; like J.J. Abrams is patting the interview on the head and secernate them not to care , because theLuke Skywalkerthey know and love is back - the Jedi Knight in beam Force ghost armor . While that may appeal to some ofThe Last Jedi ’s detractors , it means whatThe Rise of Skywalkeroffers is a reductive take on the saga ’s greatest hero , stripping Luke of the complexities that had been work up up over several movies and lots of battles . Even in Return of the Jedi , when Luke was at his strongest on - projection screen , there were layer to his fiber arc , whereas this aims to present him as a far more canonic version of that .
It also run against the greater base of theStar Warssaga , specially with regards to failure . This was a key part ofThe Last Jedi , especially its Luke / Yoda Force ghost view . But while that utter to the power of nonstarter inStar Wars- something seen time and meter again across the entire enfranchisement -The acclivity of Skywalkerrejects that notion and goes for a far more simplistic take . It or else bank to a great extent on the nostalgia gene of Luke Skywalker being Luke Skywalker , wanting audiences to just relish in the glow of his ghost , rather than really search any true role motivations , arc , or depth .
Why Last Jedi’s Luke Skywalker Was Better Than Rise of Skywalker’s
The version ofLuke Skywalker seen inThe Last Jediis , as previously note , extremely unlike from that portrayed inThe Rise of Skywalker . Indeed , he ’s different from every interpretation of Luke in anyStar Warsmovie - but so he should be . This is a much older Luke , who was fight and defeated the Empire and yet still witnessed the First Order climb in its seat ; who has seen the failings of the Jedi Order , including his own ; he not only had to watch as his nephew hybridise over to the dark side , but did so partly on account of him . And , of class , is a Luke Skywalker who inThe Force Awakenswas revealed to be insulate on an almost impossible - to - find island , a conclusion made by J.J. Abrams .
Related : Star Wars : The Rise of Skywalker ’s Ending Explained ( & What come about Next )
With that , Rian Johnson was n’t given a lot of squirm way in crafting a reason for whyLuke was on Ahch - To , and why he did n’t return when Han pass or the Resistance ( and Leia ) needed him so badly . The Last Jedicould have leaned into nostalgia and the Luke of old , making him the daring , courageous hero of the original trilogy , who faces down the First Order with a optical maser sword … and indeed that ’s exactly what it does do . The Last Jediisn’t a reversal or rejection of who Luke was , but at long last a celebration of it , yet it empty the right to do that by challenge the character and bringing a whole novel side to him .
Luke had seen and been through far too much to simply be the earnest young Heron he once was , and to have him be that way of life would be to wilfully brush off how masses alter as they develop erstwhile , and yet also will always continue to make mistakes . This is aLuke Skywalkerwho is transmit the free weight not only of a 40 - year dealership on his shoulder , but thousands of years of Jedi dogma too , and who is able to recognize the flaws of that - and with meter , its strengths too .
The Last Jedifully reckons with Luke Skywalker : the galaxy ’s hero , the mythic legend , and perhaps most importantly , the human man . It explores every facet of what that means to Luke , and what Luke means to the galaxy . And not only that , but it was able to take Luke to his dispirited point - defeated , alone , having go wrong yet again - and then gratifyingly bring him back , to help land a blow on the First Order without give birth to prosecute in fierceness , arguably one of the true and most telling feats of valiance ( and of being a Jedi ) in the entire saga . The Last Jedi ’s Luke Skywalkercombines the vernal farm male child with the muscular Jedi with the honest-to-goodness man with regrets , beautifully bringing his entire story full circle , twin suns and all .
Next : All Star Wars Movies , Ranked Worst To Best ( include Rise of Skywalker )
