SPECULATION Is Luke Rey's Father? - The Evidence For and Against

Ohhhh racist.

The opinion of the actress playing Rey who has first hand instructions from the writer about her characters motivation, has no authority on what is or is not a major theme? Seriously?

I guess it's a coincidence that it ties into exactly what JJ said about wanting the story to not be about genetics but belief? Or how a new generation of people in the galaxy view the old legends that are now myths?

 

But I didn't just pluck my opinion out of thin air! It's based on a logical reading of Luke's character in the OT and where he would go beyond that.
Luke was (is) the last Jedi - tasked with the most important mission in the galaxy (ever) - to rebuild the Jedi Order so to protect the galaxy from those that wield the Dark Side. This is someone who's father fell to the Dark Side because he opted to have a family and put that before his duty as a Jedi. This is someone who knows the power his family has. This is someone who promised Yoda that he would rebuild the order. This is someone who knows just how easy it is to be pulled to the Dark Side. This is someone who has to (and it appears, did) spend a great deal of time traversing the galaxy seeking Jedi lore that can help him in his mission. This is someone who was brought up without parents and knows the harmfulness of being an absent father. He could even have been privy to the manipulation of Ben Solo from in the womb and beyond. And the only template he has for what a Jedi should be is from his dealing with Kenobi and Yoda - two celibate monks that sacrificed their entire lives for the good of the Jedi Order.

Does this mean that Luke didn't have a wife and kid? No. But to me it would be a stain against Luke's character if after all he went through in the OT he'd then risk it all (both in terms of just not having the time to be a good father/husband and leader of the Jedi) before he has restored the Jedi Order. This isn't an anti-having kids idea. I think the Jedi could change this rule under the right circumstances and train themselves to take only the positives from it (inspiration for good, not allowing it to become an attachment or become possessive).

The point is that if Luke is Rey's father then he was neglecting his Jedi duty before the order was able to stand on its own two feet again. You simply can't have a wife and child and be the last Jedi Master without neglecting one or the other. Perhaps this is what happened and the reason that Luke is haunted now? That would just strike me however as a means to continue the story at any cost. Did Luke learn nothing in the OT? "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind".

If you'll allow me to present my 2012 ST fan-fic idea...

My take was that after the events of ROTJ, Luke's origins would've been discovered and due to the colossal impact the Jedi/Sith had on the galaxy, he would've been made a pariah and the use of the Force outlawed by the new Republic. Leia would've kept her relationship to Luke a secret but then (as happened in Bloodline) it was discovered and revealed to the galaxy. I'd then have had Han and Leia murdered in an attack on the Republic by a Sith terrorist cult and one of the Solo twins kidnapped. The remaining twin seeks out Uncle Luke so he can train him/her in the ways of the Jedi. However, in his exile, Luke has discovered that Darth Plagueis created his father through the Dark Side and Luke believes his family is a curse on the galaxy. The Sith cult leader however is none other than Plagueis himself, returning to the galaxy to destroy the Jedi forever and have supreme control over the Force itself.

It might surprise some people to see that I thought the hero should be a Solo. But for me, the most important thing was wrapping up the Skywalker story once and for all and not taking Luke's character backwards. However, TFA removed any chance of Rey being a Solo and that working out well. There's literally no way of them doing this in my mind and TFA not being made into a farce. And if Luke is the father, then we have a complete rehash of the previous story with the enlightened hero of the OT making silly mistakes.

 

Because it was either that or let Ben turn to the Dark Side. It may even be because he discovered what Snoke was up to or even that he used Ben to get to Snoke.

No, he didn't need children to bring balance. It just turned out that way, in that Luke helped redeem him. But sure, the message is that children bring out the best in you. But that is way too black and white and not transferrable to every other situation. It was great for that moment to redeem Vader but would it be good for Luke to have a family whilst he has the burden of restoring the Jedi Order?

I don't think it is black and white. He likely sees the threat his family can pose but at the same time knows it's power can be used for good.

He had no choice. Well, he could've just killed him
Point is, Luke clearly saw what was happening to Ben and rightly saw the better option was to train him.

Luke could be dangerous but has essentially jumped the dark side hurdle. I imagine it would take an awful lot to get him to turn now (though murdering his wife and child might do it). Luke is good for the galaxy because he is a good guy and can pass on the ways of the Jedi. However, in the long run is it better for Skywalker's tobe running about or not? I'd say not as when the time comes that one falls, the damage such a powerful being could do would be catastrophic.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes!
Dispassionately, yes it would be better for Skywalker's not to exist (so long as there is a Jedi Order). But it doesn't work like that. Luke cannot kill Leia or Ben. That would turn him to the Dark Side! This is simply a very Skywalker centric problem. Their bloodline is all powerful. There is no end to their connection to the Force which in turn makes them dangerous if they take the wrong path. That's why for me the saga should end with the Skywalker's dead as every other trilogy that follows will be cast under that family shadow.

This is essentially Luke's problem, imo. He knows his family history and the potential for danger. But he cannot bring himself to do anything about it - which is probably where he made mistakes with Ben. It needs someone from the outside to cure this family.

 

Even if it was the Force that created him, that doesn't make it a good thing for all of time. If his creation was a reaction to the growing dark side or Sith meddling then I'd see that not as a decision of a sentient God like Force but rather a more scientific reaction. And although it kind of worked out that this powerful creation did destroy the Sith, it was hardly a clean process. That's why the Sith involvement makes so much sense to me.

I don't want to see them all chopped up. But I think all you have to really do is kill Ben Solo (if Rey isn't a Skywalker) for we know that the likelihood is that Luke and Leia won't be having any kids at their age!

 

"Pass on what you have learned", implies continuing the Jedi Order does it not? Are you suggesting that Yoda didn't want Luke to carry on the Jedi or that Luke would have inferred from Yoda that he needed to continue the order?

I think it's logical to assume Luke would seek to find the truth. And is it not revealed in Bloodline or Aftermath that information regarding Anakin's life is discovered?

Yes, of course. But the point I am making is that having this relationship, putting it before his commitment to the Jedi, is fundamentally part of this fall. And if Luke is to discover this (he'd know the dangers of becoming attached anyway) then that would be something he'd give serious thought to: Should he risk getting married and having kids? What if this family is threatened? Can he devote time to them as a father whilst building the Jedi Order? The whole point about the Jedi is that they're selfless - and I can't see how Luke can be wholly selfless considering his task as being the last chance to save the Jedi and at the same time opting to raise a family.

Exactly, Luke spent many years seeking Jedi lore before he began building the Order. Yet within this timeframe he decided to get married and have a child?

You don't just reject the Dark Side once are cured for life. It's a constant practice, a constant struggle. You don't let go once, you let go every day. Luke would know how having a family would make not becoming attached far harder.

A spokesperson said that on Lucas' behalf to an impressionable young child.

I'm talking about Luke's experience of Ben and Yoda. Two Jedi warrior monks who lived in exile on remote worlds, alone, so to serve the Force. Or are you saying Kenobi and Yoda had mistresses off screen?!

Not quite. Anakin's origins are very much open to interpretation.

Really? Why did the Force create a chosen one before the Force went out of balance? If it created a chosen one this time, why not again? If the Force can intervene to this extent, why not go further and just kill the Sith itself? The Sith creation theory makes way more sense.

Possibly - but the prophesy was a prediction and has no direct connection to the creation of Anakin.

No. The Force didn't send Anakin those visions. Anakin's own fears and emotions led to these visions.

Again, no, This is so far fetched and absurd. Had Anakin killed Sidious and not Mace Windu, then the Force would've been balanced, Padme would've lived and all the countless evils the Empire committed (and it's remnants continues to commit) would never have happened. The Force isn't a sentient God-like being. It didn't have some master-plan.

Yes, indeed. They were wrong. Yoda saw that. But they were drawn into the war by the Sith. If the Sith didn't exist then there wouldn't have been a war in the first place. The Sith had been manipulating the Senate for decades, if not centuries! The Jedi's error was in getting too close to that system and then being drawn into a war. But they didn't cause imbalance, the Sith did.

Indeed. But that doesn't make everything the Jedi of old said to be wrong! And what's more, if Luke is all about creating a new Jedi Order, what is he doing looking to the past? Seeking Jedi lore? Acquiring the help Lor San Tekka, a supporter of the PT Jedi? And would he really be so arrogant to throw out all that his mentors lived by? The "no marriage" rule was about finding a way to best avoid the temptation of the Dark Side for tens of thousands of Jedi. Sure, it might've been better in some ways to try and work through these attachments whilst benefitting from a family - but the threat is there. And Luke being the last of the Jedi, this is something far more pertinent to him than to one of thousands of Jedi that lived in the PT era.

And yet not once do we hear them say in Rebels that it was a mistake to avoid attachment. They talk about going to war. That was a mistake. Yoda knew this and adapted the order in the OT. But being the last 2 Jedi, Yoda and Kenobi didn't go off start a family whilst watching over the twins. They devoted all their time to the latter because the cause of the Jedi was too important to neglect or risk. Yet you think Luke would do the opposite and have a family without pausing for thought?

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 6, 2017, Original Post Date: Apr 6, 2017 ---

And this is something that after the return of the Jedi order, Luke could change and Kenobi and Yoda would want him to change - have the Jedi not have political affiliation to the Republic, but be an independent order that seeks to fight injustice wherever they find it. The Jedi couldn't help Shmi, not because they didn't care about her, but because she was a slave out of their jurisdiction. Had they intervened then they would've created conflict.

This is the issue with any superhero - should they just intervene whenever they want to? Or leave it to politics and diplomacy to find a peaceful resolution?

 

"what makes something a saga film is it's related to the Skywalker family in some way"

Wait, these quotes suggest far more strongly that:

a) The saga films have to connect to the Skywalker's in some way, but not every way - indicating further that Kylo Ren's character (along with Luke and Leia) is more than enough (which Pablo has tweeted as well).
b) That Rey has no origin that she remembers or will even discover and has to make her own one - eg, join the "Skywalker family"/be adopted by it.

Thanks for providing 2 slam-dunk quotes for the No vote!