How many Macguffin's?

That's a tricky one as Hitchcock says "it's the thing that the characters care about but the audience doesn't" With Star Wars however many fans care about every small detail and that why it's so divisive.

Put a MacGuffin in Star Wars and you'll get a thread going and fan theories on you tube. I'm guilty of getting wrapped up in them myself sometimes.

 

That is an incredibly smart answer. I would double upvote you if I could

 

Hmmm

Knowledge is the real driver for Rey. So she gets the books but also learns about who she is. A little esoteric but it is the "object" sought.

For Finn the real deal is getting back together with Rey for that he needs the codes.

Luke was all about hope. Rey went to bring hope back. In the end Luke did that.

 

Lightsaber.

Is the Anakin/Luke's blue saber so important? You.know....is just a saber, he has history we know. But any saber can be used (if you know how to build one) instead of that particular one. The saber is the link but at the same time the mcguffin in this arc. Why Ben desire that saber soo much?

 

The real driver for Rey ? More like the real Driver for Rey

pfffff I'm soooo funny

 

I've been following this site for a while and this is the thread that finally made me join. I'm a film narrative professor, and there's always confusion among people about what a MacGuffin is. Most of the elements on that list certainly are not, and most don't drive the plot forward. Pastor Barndog's answer is a bit more on point.

The lightsaber isn't much of a MacGuffin in TLJ any more. It is a secondary MacGuffin in TFA, the main one being the map/Luke himself (remember, a MacGuffin can also be a character or an ideal).

The script from TLJ isn't as MacGuffin driven as TFA's, though there certainly are some. A very big one, since it drives two of the main three plotlines is the Hyperspace Tracking System. Other secondary MacGuffins derive from it, like "The Codebreaker". A MacGuffin can have peripheral ones. Think of the Ark of the Covenant, which has the Map Room, the Medallion, etc.

Luke's location is still a secondary MacGuffin in TLJ, mostly for Snoke. The Jedi books are a very minor MacGuffin that will probably drive Episode IX's backstory, but not the main film itself, I suspect.

The homing beacon, Han's dice, the Ticos' necklace and the Resistance ring are minor plot devices that don't qualify as real MacGuffins, but which do have some narrative value. Other elements like Leia's ring are simply... wardrobe/props.

 

Welcome to the forum. I don't have much to add to what you wrote, but I found your explanation to be an outstanding reference for this topic. My only complaint is it's kind of a thread killer. There's nothing left to add. Good work.