SPECULATION Why is Luke's / Anakin's saber important

Because JJ said it is. Other than that, it's not. It's neat to do an "Excalibur" type story, but I don't believe that that SPECIFIC lightsaber was needed to do so. It could very well have been done with Luke's green one if a lightsaber was absolutely needed. I don't think it was necessary to undermine the original films just so they could have the lightsaber from Empire in order to do the "Excalibur" element, but what do I know? I'm a guy on a message board, and JJ is making movies.

 

It had to be that particular lightsaber because that is the "passing of the torch" lightsaber. It's entire purpose for existing in the OT was to link Luke to Anakin, and now it will do the same thing in this movie. I think it's a pretty beautiful thing, personally, but that's just my opinion.

Not sure I understand how the OT is being undermined by this plot point.

 

Luke says giving the Lightsaber to his offspring. "Here... I want u 2 have this." \m/ \m/

 

The passing of Anakin's lightsaber to Luke was a family legacy moving forward to the next generation, it's important that continues who knows how many Skywalkers will be left after the ST.

 

It's not the "legacy" part that's the problem, it's the overemphasis on the lightsaber's importance as well as the it-fell-into-clouds-in-a-planet-made-of-clouds part in Empire Strikes Back that's the problem. Point is, it was as gone as the Tauntaun Han cut open with it (please don't bring back that Tauntaun, JJ....not an invitation). Star Wars is all fantasy, but even as fantastic as it is, it still has rules to adhere to. It's extremely absurd even by Star Wars standards that this lightsaber as well as Luke's hand is ever recovered. It just sounds like really bad fanfic. Like bringing Darth Maul back or the Emperor (aww crap, they did both of those once....meh. Whatever).

I'd be more open to the Millenium Falcon getting a circular dish put back on it over that lightsaber ever being found, and we know they're not doing that with the Falcon in Force Awakens. This idea of the lightsaber from Empire returning is stupid, particularly if it's not even for Luke's kid.

 

It doesn't really matter how it is recovered, as long as the explanation is half way decent. People who would let something as small as this effect their enjoyment of the movie really make me laugh. The rest of us will accept It for what it is and get on with enjoying the rest of the movie.

 

I wonder if we will even get an explanation for how the light saber is recovered. Is the casual movie goer even going to recognize this as the light saber that Luke lost when his hand was cut off? I would think there'd have to at least be a line or two explaining this, otherwise why bother using this specific light saber. I just hope it doesn't come off as hokey.

 

The lightsaber as@jmjawors said is being used as the symbolic passing of the torch. I think the problem some people (not specifically anyone in particular) assume that the lightsaber went straight from Cloud City/Bespin straight to the planet we supposedly see it land in in the opening of the film. I suspect that at some point in the past 30 years Luke got it back in his posession. I suspect we won't get the details in this movie bit may be explained in the Aftermath trilogy. There may be a throw away line in the movie like "this is Luke's lightsaber that he recovered from Cloud City" but we won't be given any details. What is confusing is that the droids supposedly decode something that leads to the finding of Luke's whereabouts. How did something like this happen? My speculation is that Luke has it before he goes off into hiding. He plants something in it and gives it to R2 and tells him to decode it if he is needed. At some point the lightsaber is lost. Maybe R2 had to jettison it off a ship that was being overtaken by the FO. That leads us to the supposed start of the movie. Of course if event did happen in this manner we would not find out about it in TFA. However as stated above, it could be told in one of the later Aftermath books that will be released after TFA has been released.

 

This presumes that Han knows that Rey is his daughter... or at least related to him (Uncle Han).

I actually think there is just as a good a chance that between ESB and ROTJ, Vader went back and retrieved it. It held some very important history for him, too. And I posted elsewhere how he could have been the one to encode the lightsaber with the "puzzle" as a means to preserve some of his plans to overthrow Palpatine... information of which would now be beneficial to either the Resistance or the First Order. Kind of like the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

(Ooh, I just had a really awful thought... they ruined Indiana Jones by introducing aliens, I hope this is not the reverse where they are now going to ruin Star Wars by introducing archeology. But then again, I always found the theory that Chewbacca is actually Bigfoot after he and Han Solo went through a wormhole landing on Earth to be pretty funny...)

 

You are right. There is a chance that it Vader retrieved it. However, assuming (which is dangerous) that MSW's force vision/ flashback scene is correct it appears to be present at the academy scene which would indicate Luke had been in possession of it or someone there was at least. I guess one of the attackers could of had it but that was not the way I interpreted it.

 

MSW's force vision/flashback scene is so muddled to me, it is hard to tell what is going on in the purported academy-attack scene, what is there in terms of such an "artifact," and when it took place, that I still think just about anything is possible between ROTJ and the beginning of TFA. MSW's synopsis on the force-flashback/forward/sideways just jumps all around... although I guess that's what JJ has done before?

 

Just so long as SOMEBODY went back for it. The idea that it floated out of Bespin's gravity, then traveled across the galaxy and fell randomly onto another planet, is too absurd for words. If the movie really does involve the lightsaber falling from orbit down to the surface of Jakku, let's hope that it was on one of the ships involved in the battle that littered the planet's surface with starships. It would still be a pretty big coincidence that it would randomly wind up in the hands of Luke's relative, but at least it wouldn't kill the movie.

As for how the lightsaber eventually leads to Luke, there are a ton of possible explanations. I've read a dozen different cleaver ideas in this forum over the last year that would all work just fine. I'm sort of partial to the idea that Luke had it with him the last time anyone saw him. I'm less fond of the hidden puzzle idea. I'd rather they analyzed it and discovered trace amounts of an unusual element, or a radiation signature that could only come from one place. But I can accept the hidden puzzle idea if they sell it in a logical way.

 

Thanks for the link.

Is the Disney Wiki canon? I ask because they article on lightsabers makes reference to EU things, and labels them as such, like exotic materials that can withstand lightsaber attacks.

Also a new one on me was the plot synopsis on TFA from the Disney Wiki:

http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Episode_VII:_The_Force_Awakens

When a mysterious artifact from the past appears on the desert world of Jakku, Rey; a scavenger, Finn; a defecting stormtrooper, and Poe; an X-Wing pilot are thrown into a greater galactic conflict. To harness the power of the artifact, one of them must discover the dormant force within, and awaken it.

That looks to me like the story IS all about Anakin's Lightsaber as the plot device which drives the whole story.

It sounds much better as an idea in this synopsis than it does when we start tearing apart every nuance of it, and does, incidentally, confirm that some of the early spoilers about the importance of the artifact were accurate.

Hmmmmm....

 

I think the lightsabre is not the McGuffin Luke is the plot is driven in part to find Luke. The sabre is found and is used just as it was in ANH it is passed to the new sabre wielding character. But the journey it takes starts a course of events that lead people to seek out Luke.

For instance.

Spoiler

Rey finds Poe's crashed X-wing. She and the big pig tow it in for salvage. One of the items she can't identify is the sabre. She takes it to the Vicar he knows what it is and puts out a call for buyers. A sabre attracts people who kill or recruit sabre wielders like Kylo Ren. Shenanigans ensue they meet Han. I now this sabre it belonged to Luke. They meet Leia. I have a strange feeling this means we should find Luke. It goes with them on the journey to find Luke.

 

Thanks for sharing, great discovery, I don't think I like the implications of that text.
"To harness the power of the artifact" What the hell is this supposed to mean? Are we supposed to believe this lightssaber has some kind of special power? I definitely hope it doesn't and it just means the ability to wield that kind of weapon properly.
"one of them must discover the dormant force within, and awaken it." I don't like this either, why one of them? Maybe the Finn vs Rey debates where not so dumb as I thought...

 

“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”
―Obi-Wan Kenobi

a lightsaber is a weapon, not some magical object. they might as well be spending the whole movie looking for han's blaster or leia's hair buns. giving this kind of importance to the lightsaber just because anakin and luke used sounds like bad fan fiction

 

I've maintained all along that the lightsaber matters because it somehow leads to Luke, and finding Luke will be significant to the plot in the movie.

And for the record I SERIOUSLY doubt the lightsaber has been lost since cloud city. The idea of it floating around for 30 years is just plain silly.

 

30 years floating around does sound dull, lets hope JJ didn't go for it.

 

it should have been found shortly after Luke lost it. A rotting hand smells & they were inside a building (though a very large one)

since i was a child i have been very interested what happened with the lightsaber & i imagined a story were it fell to a planet below & were found by some kids (now i know bespin is a gas giant, hence the mine, but i did not make that connection as a child)

It will be interesting to see were it has been & if it gets a backstory & having it just floati around in space IS SILLY (then my own backstory is better, even if it is not logical)