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Star Wars: The Force Awakens: JJ Abrams addresses where Luke Skywalker is (possible spoilers)

His comments hint at which side of The Force the Jedi Knight will be on

Jack Shepherd
Sunday 15 November 2015 12:20 GMT
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With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens drawing ever closer, more and more information regarding the film’s plot has emerged online.

However, after two trailers (not including the Japanese one), numerous posters and lots of press photos, we still haven’t seen Luke Skywalker properly.

Luckily, director JJ Abrams has shed some light as to why the Jedi Knight is missing from all promotional material and possibly revealed some *spoilery* information regarding his role in the film.

“No one forgot about him!” he told Entertainment Weekly after being asked 'Where is Luke Skywalker'. “We were hoping people would care, but there are a lot of things that are not on the poster, as busy as the poster is. Certainly Luke is a very important aspect of the story.”

He goes on to elaborate how Mark Hamill’s character will be an almost mythical figure in the film: “It was the thing that struck me the hardest, which was the idea that doing a story that took place nearly 40 years after Jedi meant that there would be a generation for whom Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia would be as good as myth.

“They’d be as old and as mythic as the tale of King Arthur. They would be characters who they may have heard of, but maybe not. They’d be characters who they might believe existed, or just sounded like a fairy tale.”

The 49-year-old added how members of the Empire have been taught that Luke and The Force are the enemy: “For Finn, he’s been raised from the ashes of the Empire. He’s been taught about Luke Skywalker, he knows about his history. For him it’s like joining the army and then learning about one of the great enemies of your country. It has that effect on him.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Trailer

“But in terms of the Force, and the magical stuff that happens, that is the point where Finn kind of questions what is what. What is the Force, what part does Luke Skywalker play in all of this?”

Many believe he is implying Luke will train John Boyega’s character in the ways of The Force once he switches from being with The First Order - the remnants of the Empire - to the resistance.

This also extinguishes rumours that he will be playing a villain and instead reaffirms those that say Luke will have an Obi-Wan Kenobi-like role in the upcoming film.

It has been revealed Star Wars: The Force Awakens will miss awards season in an attempt to prevent spoilers leaking. Earlier this month a rough cut of the film was shown to mega-fan Daniel Fleetwood, who died days later.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in UK cinemas on 17 December.

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