STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI's Mark Hamill Outlines The Events That Drove Luke Into Exile; More Stills Released
We know that Luke Skywalker went into exile when he was betrayed by Kylo Ren, but what kept him away for so long even when his friends were in trouble? Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Mark Hamill explains...
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Han Solo reveals that Luke disappeared when Kylo Ren betrayed him and murdered his other students - but it wasn't shame or cowardice that kept him in exile.
During an interview with EW, Mark Hamill explains that Luke believed Kylo - then Ben Solo - to be the "chosen one", and his betrayal and deflection to the Dark Side made him doubt his own connection to The Force.
"[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."
That same darkness is something that could well be lurking inside Luke, and may be another reason he decided to exile himself on Ahch-To away from anyone that could be made to suffer if he lost control.
Will Rey manage to convince him to join the fight in Star Wars: The Last Jedi? Probably - but it sounds like she'll have her work cut out.