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Here’s the reason we need a Luke Skywalker Star Wars standalone film

By Neil Harrington

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With the latest news of an Obi-Wan standalone film in early development and having a director, more Star Wars films have been speculated to be in the works. Could a Luke Skywalker adventure be one of them?

Following major buzz with the recent Obi-Wan Star Wars film developments, speculation for other films have surfaced as well. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Yoda and Boba Fett standalone films could be in the early stages as well.

Another character I feel needs — and quite frankly deserves — his own Star Wars standalone story is Luke Skywalker. Even though the Original Trilogy was all about Luke and his hero journey, there is still a massive amount of his story that could still be told, especially with that thirty-year gap between Return of the Jedi and the soon to be released The Last Jedi.

The most important question is: who would play a young Luke Skywalker? Last year, a Star Wars fan had some fun on Twitter with Photoshop and showed the uncanny resemblance that actor Sebastian Stan had of a young Mark Hamill.

Without the caption, I cannot tell the difference between the two actors. Mark Hamill apparently is on board with this idea as well.

Now that we have a perfect actor to portray Luke, what stories could Lucasfilm tell about the famous Jedi?

First, let’s take a look at stories of Luke that have been released within the established Star Wars canon, post Return of the Jedi.

Marvel Star Wars: Shattered Empire comic series 

Photo credit: Lucasfilm

Just a few standard weeks after the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke travels with Poe Dameron’s mother, Shara Bey, to an Imperial facility, on a mission with the purpose of taking back two Force sensitive trees that once filled the heart of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

Photo credit: Lucasfilm

Their journey is successful, with Luke taking one of the endangered trees for his new Jedi Order and the other one gifted to Shara, her husband Kes Dameron, and their toddler Poe, where it is then planted on their residence within their home planet of Yavin IV.

Unfortunately, that is the only post Episode VI Luke story that has been released to this date. In both the Aftermath trilogy and Bloodlines novel, we learn just a small handful of things about Luke during that era.

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After Luke’s heavy involvement with the galaxy wide conflict in the Original Trilogy, he then steps out of the limelight and withdraws from Galactic affairs, with the only exception being teaching the acolytes of his new Jedi Order.

His sister, Leia, had also learned some teachings of the Force from her brother but decided to stay in the world of politics instead of becoming a Jedi herself.

We also discover that Luke was still teaching Ben Solo as early as six years before the events of The Force Awakens, meaning that both Ben’s transformation into Kylo Ren and the massacring of his fellow Jedi brethren occurred not too long before Episode VII.

Photo credit: Lucasfilm

Luke also withheld vital information from his nephew Ben, that Darth Vader was, in fact, once Anakin Skywalker, making Vader Luke’s father and Ben’s grandfather. Only Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and (maybe) Chewbacca knew of Darth Vader’s origins, but that information was leaked via the Holonet many years later, possibly being one of the reasons Ben then turned to the Dark Side of the Force, due to his already apparent obsession and fascination with the Sith Lord.

Next: 50 Most Memorable Moments from Star Wars Rebels

We have the perfect actor to play a young Luke Skywalker in Sebastian Stan, with the important blessing of Mark Hamill himself. There are plenty of stories to be told of Luke post Return of the Jedi and to me its a no brainer.

What do you think? Do we need a Luke Skywalker Star Wars story told on the big-screen? Tell us in the comments below and on our social media pages.

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