Will the Green Saber return?

Green saber, yes. Luke Skywalker not done with the fight, yes. How far he will live... not sure. Remember that Mark Hamill, even if not at face value, is about the same age as Alec Guiness when they filmed ANH. This could mean a lot of different things. Could they pull the ATC digital trick like they did with Christopher Lee and superimpose Luke's facial expressions on to a stunt double and make it look like he fought his enemy, but really it is someone much more capable and still can kick ass so that we do not lose our Luke Skywalker so early in the ST.

 

Don't get me wrong. I want to see Luke fight with a saber again, but he definitely will not be as quick and agile as say Hayden and Ewan were in RotS because of his age. I totally want to see him go up against Snoka-Cola, but at the same time, I don't want him getting injured in the preparatory stages such as tearing his ACL or breaking something. That would really put shooting behind schedule like when Harrison was injured by the Falcon's door. I really do want to see how they handled that situation in Behind-The-Scenes when it comes out next year.

 

Seriously, Mark Hamill is 64, he's not made of glass. Unless there's something wrong with him that we don't know about (like knee problems of whatever), he should have no problem fighting on the silver screen. Alec Guinness fought convincingly when he was Mark's age (in 1976), and Mark has benefited from MUCH better health care and medicine than Alec ever did. I think you can expect Mark to stand his ground pretty darn well against movie badguys - with luck, he'll even fight bether in the ST than what he did in the OT (when, it seems from the films, any stage fighting instructions he got were sketchy in the extreme). Personally, I would not bet against Mark wooping some serious arse in the OT, although I don't think he would need to do so to be an effective character.

PS: Alec Guinness complained that people treated him like glass on set. Let's not assume the same about Mark Hamill.

 

Kick ASS!! and... forget all about the lessons he learned during his hero journey throughout the entirety of the OT?

To me, this was the biggest problem with the EU... it created this alternate universe where Luke Skywalker became this uber-powerful warrior, which is not what his character was about in the movie-verse (at least in my mind). He was not a highly trained Jedi warrior and learned by the end of ROTJ that it is not the "fight" that wins the day.

This was also the problem with the PT, in that George abandoned the core principles and underlying mythology of the OT, turning things into just a standard issue action-flick franchise in order to sell his ILM digital effects to other movie producers. Why else do you take Yoda, originally conceived as the wise, monk-like sage that "would be useless in a fight against Darth Vader," and make him bounce all around the screen in a flashy, yet hollow, battle of the strongest Force users ever known in the galaxy? Well, because people will think it looks cool. I am sometimes astounded at how little it seems George understood about the original mythology he created... and how much people want to see ridiculous kick-ass Force powers, just because it is flashy and cool, rather than a story deeply rooted in symbolism and real meaning.

So, I vote for no green saber, only because I would think that Luke Skywalker should have transcended such earthly, crude things in favor of a role more akin to what Yoda was originally... before he was corrupted by the "evil Empire" of ILM in the PT. Leave the saber swinging to the young and impetuous, who have yet to learn the true nature of the Force. Just my opinion, as unpopular as it may be.

 

From GTA San Andreas I think, nice green ride.

 

Yes, according to the PT versions of the Jedi... which I would argue were an antiquated society of warriors who made numerous mistakes all at a horrible cost to the galaxy. Did Luke Skywalker learn nothing from the mistakes of his predecessors? Ask OB1's and Yoda's force ghosts if they have any regrets or think they screwed up... I personally think that Luke would start his Jedi Order in a much different way and mold it based on many of the ideals and morals he learned during his "trials"... such that the new Jedi order will look much different than that of old.

 

I agree with parts of this. I also thought it was very fanfic-y when the rumors started swirling about. Now, I've settled that it's only surfaced because Kylo wants it and no one thinks it's safe anywhere but in Luke's possession, and that's the whole story, "we've got to get this to Luke because if this Kylo guy gets Vader's original saber, things might not end well". I don't think it will be handed down at all. I don't buy the whole "it's cursed" thing, but yeah, who the hell wants a saber used to slaughter Jedi, even if it's owner was eventually "saved"?

 

But why would things not end well if Kylo somehow got it? Bad guy gets a lightsaber.....umm....so what? And why is it so important to stop this? General Greivous had a lot of good guys' lightsabers....wasn't a big deal, really. Honestly, if this is the plot of the film...trying to keep a lightsaber away from a bad guy because reasons....that's going to be pretty dumb if you ask me, so I'm hoping that isn't the case. Even when the Emperor had Luke's lightsaber it wasn't "Oh blast!! End of the galaxy!!!" it was just "Oh, Luke doesn't have a weapon to use anymore....that sucks". The lightsaber was just a tool....that was it. Placing all this seemingly over-emphasis on its importance really bugs me at the moment.

 

I didn't say it was a good or strong plot device, only what I've settled on in my own mind based on rumors and confirmed info. I'm setting the bar low, I'm much more likely to be pleasantly surprised that way.
But It's not about JUST the lightsaber, between rumors and confirmed information it seems like the First Order is hell bent on doing what it sees as the "right" thing to do, continuing Vader's work. We still really don't know the whole state of the galaxy. While the Galaxy can probably unite behind the idea of "let's not have another Vader" I find it hard to believe that the Galaxy is so ready to wholeheartedly welcome back the Jedi. Does the galaxy know Vader WAS a Jedi? Do they believe that the Jedi really betrayed the Republic? Do they even make the distinction between a Jedi and a Sith or all lightsaber wielding weirdos not to be trusted? It may be 50ish years since Order 66 but has the galaxy really sorted what was whole truth, part truth or total lie about Palpatine's rise? Rumors say Kylo Ren is a fanatical relic hunter, do they think amassing these relics make him more powerful? Does Kylo Ren believe that? Does the galaxy really have enough knowledge of all things Force-related to make an informed decision, or one that is more out of fear?

 

"He was not a highly trained Jedi warrior and learned by the end of ROTJ that it is not the "fight" that wins the day."
No. It is throwing an evil old man down a reactor shaft that wins the day. Very Zen...

Luke throwing away his saber was not about pacifism, it was about Luke realizing that he was using the Dark Side to fight as his father did. Luke has the saber at the end of Jedi on Endor, so why would he pick it back up if he doesn't believe in fighting?

You should listen to the RFR commentaries with Sam Witwer if you think the PT was just a bunch of mindless action.

 

Why does everyone equate this view of Luke's character arc as somehow advocating pacificism? It is not pacificism. It is about recognizing exactly what is necessary in the moment. As you seemingly acknowledge with your comment about Luke recognizing his own use of the Dark Side to fight, Luke realized that evil begets evil. It took an act of self-sacrifice and love for Luke to "win" the battle... the battle for his father's soul. Darth Vader was an evil character, who happened to still have some good left in him. But Darth Vader was also the dark character that was necessary to defeat the Emperor, not Luke. Why does Luke pick up the lightsaber? Because, of course, it may be of some use later on... in the intervening 30 years.

But the point is not, who was Luke Skywalker immediately after the Battle of Endor, but who is he 30 years later. And as I mentioned, I see him more as a non-warrior, wise sage who passes on what he has learned, like the original conception of Yoda, not as the saber-swinging savior of the new young heroes. That doesn't make him a pacifist, it makes him a character who has evolved and grown, as we should expect from his path taken in the OT.

EDIT: I also don't expect Luke to be swinging the green saber because it was not the one of his family legacy. I don't know if it makes much sense, but it was also the one he used while he was a more morally grey character himself (not that the "old family blue" wasn't used to do some reprehensible things), but my personal preference would be that Luke is above all that stuff now as an evolved, older character...

 

It is equated with pacifism because you refer to fighting with a saber as "earthly, crude...saber swinging [by those] who have yet to learn the true nature of the Force." You also just said above that "Luke realized that evil begets evil" when he fought with the saber. I agree that his love turned Vader, but without Vader throwing Palps into the shaft, there is no end to the Sith. It was the right choice for Luke at that time in that circumstance, not for every circumstance he may ever face.
I disagree that fighting with a saber = Dark Side or primitive thinking. The problem wasn't the weapon, but the state of the person using it. War does not make one great, but one can be great and also be a warrior. Sometimes it IS the fight that wins the day, hence blowing up the Death Star and chucking Palps to his death.
You say Luke picked up the saber because he may need it, yet isn't it your opinion that he surpassed that need at the end of the fight?

 

No, not really. He surpassed the need for that particular fight. I don't think you and I really think that differently, I am just looking at it from the perspective of Luke Skywalker thirty years after he learned the valuable lesson from that encounter that saber-swinging isn't always going to be the solution to the problem. What I am saying is that it makes better sense to me that now (not right after the battle of Endor) that Luke would leave all of the "earthly, crude saber swinging" to those "who have yet to learn the true nature of the Force." Why else would the new heroes be seeking out Luke Skywalker if they couldn't use some tutelage on the true nature of the Force?

I also should have said that "Luke realized that evil begets evil" when he fought with the saber under the circumstances of the conflict with Vader before the Emperor. I did not mean to say there would be no circumstance under which he would be wielding a lightsaber over the course of the last 30 years, but I would venture a guess that his occasions to do so would become less and less as he aged and as new heroes (and villains) emerged, just as was the case with OB1 and Yoda. I could be completely wrong, but I just don't see his character arc reverting to all-powerful Jedi badass warrior rather than wise old sage and mentor.

I understand those that want to see Luke swoop in during the final climactic scenes with his green saber to save the day for Rey and Finn battling Kylo Ren (or whoever), I personally just don't think that makes much sense when you view his character's development over the course of time and what the movie likely calls for from the role. Again, just my opinion, which is not well-informed and likely to be completely wrong.