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Why didn't Owen and Beru or even Obi-Wan change Luke's last name?

Discussion in 'Original Trilogy' started by Lord Skywalker, Dec 28, 2015.

  1. Conspirators09

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    They were only stashing him with his aunt and uncle, so I feel like it's all a flaw in the Empire's search techniques.
     
  2. Finn_McCool

    Finn_McCool Jedi Commander

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    Because when Star Wars was written Luke's father was killed by Vader. Vader wasn't looking for him, Luke wasn't special, he was just a farmboy on Tatooine. GL just made stuff up as he went along but that's okay with me. It is what it is. Thd OT wasn't a perfect trillogy.
     
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  3. Suborn

    Suborn Clone Trooper

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    I figured that Owen, thinking Anakin had died and knowing nothing of Vader, believed Luke should use his true name over Obi-Wan's objections if he raised any. Remember there's no reason for Owen and Beru to think Luke is in hiding. And it doesn't seem like Owen cares much for Obi-Wan's opinion. Obi-Wan really couldn't do anything about it and he probably didn't want to tell them the whole story.
     
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  4. Obi5Kenobi

    Obi5Kenobi Rebel Official

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    We don't know what Obi Wan told Owen and Beru. Hopefully this will be revealed in the Obi Wan series. If Obi Wan told him that Anakin and Padme were killed in Clone Wars and that they were Luke's next of kin and and nothing else, Owen and Beru would have no reason to change Luke's name. Owen and Beru could possibly know almost nothing about galactic politics, given their situation.

    However, Luke was raised to believe that his father was a navigator on a spice freighter. Why? This implies that Owen and Beru may have known about Anakin being Vader. Or, if they believed that Anakin died a hero, it could be they didn't want Luke to follow in his father's footsteps, even on the light side of the force as a Jedi. It got Anakin killed at such a young age.

    Too little has been canonically revealed. I do believe that in a Disney era comic, that Vader hears "Luke Skywalker" and knows who he is because of his first name. He even says that Skywalker is a common name but that "Luke" is a rare name and was a relative of Padme's. That's how he knew that Luke was his son. That's from memory and may not be 100% accurate.
     
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  5. Angelman

    Angelman Servant of the Whills -- Slave to the Muses
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    My current head-canon (which I hope we'll see play out in the Kenobi show) is that his foster parents DID change his name and that Luke was known as Luke Lars on Tatooine. And then, some years prior to ANH (i.e. during the Kenobi show or around that time), Owen and Beru reveals to Luke that his father was this dude named Skywalker. This triggers something in the teenage Luke, who now insists on going by Luke Skywalker from then on in, him being a whiny little brat and all, heh heh. I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, thank you.
     
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  6. Jaxxon

    Jaxxon Green Space Rabbit

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    I have a similar head-canon, but with a twist. To my knowledge, the first time we hear the name "Luke Skywalker" is on the Death Star, when he says "My name is Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!"

    So my head canon? He's been Luke Lars for his entire life. But then he learns about his father, Anakin Skywalker, from old Ben. And so in that moment on the Death Star, he chooses to take his father's name as a symbol of his newfound heroism.
     
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  7. Too Bob Bit

    Too Bob Bit Jedi Commander

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    I sometimes wonder Lucas's original plan was (assuming there was any real original plan at all).

    What I think is curious about ANH is that Luke never asks anybody anything about his mother. Why is Luke only so obsessed about what happened to his father?!

    My suspicion was that we were meant to think she died sometime during Luke's living memory. The idea then I think was that Luke's mother died when he was younger, and so had to go an live with his aunt and uncle. That's why he doesn't call Beru and Owen mother and father, and why he still has the name Skywalker (it's also not too dissimilar to the type of thing that happened during WW2 - children being evacuated to live with aunts and uncles).

    I suspect that right up until Lucas was writing ROTS he envisaged Padme surviving beyond the episode, but as he was writing he realised it would leave a loose-end. He needed to complete that story conclusively, not leave us wondering what happened to the mother, so he had her die in the movie. As Lucas himself has stated, he needs to make the individual story work.

    Coming back to my point about Luke not asking about his mother - knowing what we know since the PT story has been told, we could just assume he was told the basic truth at some point: that she died during childbirth.
     
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  8. Lukestarbucker

    Lukestarbucker Force Sensitive

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    I bet it was because of the following reasons.

    A: Tatooine, where Luke grew up, had little to no Empire presence before the whole ANH movie went down

    B: There are so many surnames out there, what are the chances Vader stumbles upon it. Also, there are so many planets with so many people, what are the odds that the Empire finally finds “Skywalker”

    C: Family tradition? This is a stupid answer but whatever. Maybe Owen and beru kept that name to pass on Anakin’s last name as he was once the best jedi in the galaxy. Again, i pulled this answer out of nowhere but there it is a possibility.
     
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  9. Obi5Kenobi

    Obi5Kenobi Rebel Official

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    It just occurred to me that, as far as the public knew, the Jedi had tried to take over the galaxy and to assissinate Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Without knowing what Obi Wan told Owen and Beru, it's not a stretch to think that they want Luke to have nothing to do with the Jedi. This could explain the "your father was a navigator" story as well as Owen's distaste for Obi Wan. If Owen and Beru believed the official story, that could be the case.
     
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  10. Lukestarbucker

    Lukestarbucker Force Sensitive

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    Thats true and a good point. But I feel like since obi wan was looking after Luke on Tatooine, then he probably told owen and beru because Luke would/could become a Jedi in the future.
     
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  11. Rusty Cheeseknife

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    I was going to make a similar reply, but this is basically it.

    Funny thing is, originally, Luke was going to be named Luke Starkiller. :eek:
     
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  12. SegNerd

    SegNerd Rebel Official

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    I don't think it's even been proven whether Owen and Beru knew that Anakin = Vader. If they didn't, then there would be no reason to change Luke's name. If the only information the Larses got was, "Anakin is dead, and you have to raise his son," it probably wouldn't have even occurred to them to change his name.

    Another possibility I can think of is that we don't really have any information about the Hutt's legal system. In the United States, you can change your name to whatever you want, whenever you want, and the only restriction is that you can't change your name to weasel out of a debt or a criminal charge. But there are many places where there are more restrictions on name changes, and we have no way of knowing what the law on Tatooine is.
     
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  13. Lukestarbucker

    Lukestarbucker Force Sensitive

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    You know what? This is prob the best reply. I agree. Owen and Beru likely didn’t even know that Anakin was Darth Vader. They were probably told that Anakin died so now, since you are the only living relatives, you will raise his son. I agree so much my friend
    --- Double Post Merged, Apr 3, 2021, Original Post Date: Apr 3, 2021 ---
    You know what? This is prob the best reply. I agree. Owen and Beru likely didn’t even know that Anakin was Darth Vader. They were probably told that Anakin died so now, since you are the only living relatives, you will raise his son. I agree so much my friend
     
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  14. Angelman

    Angelman Servant of the Whills -- Slave to the Muses
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    I had a quick look at the Owen Lars canon article on Wookiepedia, and it seems he did indeed not know that Anakin was Vader. Indeed, Owen apparently thought Kenobi had gotten Anakin, his step-brother, killed and was understanding his task as protecting Luke from Kenobi as much as from anyone else. (It's a little bit weak as Owen is clearly at least as afraid of Anakin's legacy as of Kenobi's influence, but it lines up pretty well. I still prefer the, Luke Lars discovering his father's last name just as he's growing into a moody teenager and adopts the Skywalker name as an act of defiance, explanation, myself, but your take sure is simpler and more straight forward, and therefore perhaps better).
     
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