Fan Theories About Luke Skywalker In The Last Jedi

Redditor J_MacDonald believes that Luke's search for the Jedi's origins is couched in his belief that the light and dark sides can be brought together, not destroyed. They write:

"Luke is looking to end the Jedi - and the Sith for that matter - and unify the light and dark ends of the Force. This is the real meaning of the prophecy.

It will be revealed that both the Jedi and the Sith emerged from an ancient division in the Force itself, and rather than subjectively restoring balance between the light and dark Force operators (the Jedi & the Sith, as previous trilogies have interpreted the prophecy), this trilogy will objectively re-balance the Force itself, ending the division of light and dark within it.

Luke's journey to the ancient Jedi temple is to discover the origins of the Jedi, which will point to the same origin as the Sith. Rey speaks about light, dark, and balance in the trailer, which points to a unified Force. Kylo Ren's ancient lightsaber points to older forms of the Force being a key component.

Luke is the last Jedi. Rey and Kylo will be the first practitioners of a reunified/balanced Force."

Joshikins29 illuminates a Star Wars mythos most casual fans are likely unaware of, the Barash Vow. Here's his point-by-point argument to defend the assertion that Luke has taken the vow:

• "From the recent Darth Vader comic, we have learned that some Jedi take the Barash Vow, which entails 'refrain[ing] from activities related to the [Jedi] order. Complete disengagement from anything but the Force'
• A vow to isolate yourself and focus on the Force certainly fits Luke’s situation, as he has isolated himself from the battle against the First Order seemingly to learn more about the Force by finding the First Jedi Temple.
• We also learn from this comic that the Barash Vow is 'a type of penance' and is taken after a Jedi commits 'transgressions.' This also fits Luke's situation, as Leia trusted Luke to keep her son on the light side, but Luke failed her, Ben, and all of his other apprentices (who Ben/Kylo Ren killed). To repent for these sins, I believe Luke takes the Barash Vow.
• However, the Barash isn’t all about self-punishment. It’s also about trying to find wisdom. The Jedi in the Darth Vader comic took the Vow 'until my true path as a Jedi became clear.' What does Luke need to gain clarity on and what is the great revelation that he gains from his time in isolation at the First Jedi Temple?
• I believe that Luke goes into isolation b/c he is having a crisis of faith with the old Jedi Philosophy/Order. Just as the old Jedi Philosophy/Order couldn't prevent Anakin Skywalker from turning to the dark side, so could it not prevent Ben Solo from turning to the dark side. Due to these failures, I believe Luke goes searching for the First Jedi Temple in order to gain knowledge about how to reform the old Jedi Philosophy/Order to prevent these mistakes from happening again in the future
• The great revelation that Luke gains from taking the Barash Vow is that 'it's time for the Jedi to end.' In other words, Luke learns that he must end the old Jedi Philosophy/Order and develop a new philosophy of the Force that is wiser. In this sense, Luke will be the titular 'last Jedi'
• The last important fact we learn about the Barash Vow from the Darth Vader comic is that a Jedi can end their vow of isolation once their true path becomes clear. So, once Luke has his great revelation about the Jedi, and possibly also after some convincing by Rey, I believe that Luke will end his vow and rejoin the fight against the First Order"

Joshikins29 believes he knows precisely who The Last Jedi is, and it's not much of a twist, and is perhaps even the most likely answer. Their case is:

• "Luke is extremely frustrated with the Jedi philosophy
• He has learned from his father, the Force ghost of Anakin, that one of the main reasons he turned to the dark side is that the Jedi forbade him from having an open relationship with the woman he loved
• Luke has seen first-hand how the Jedi put little value on compassion and love, as Yoda and Obi-Wan urged him not to go to Cloud City to try and save his friends (Han and Leia), and to try and murder his own father
• Following the Jedi tradition of taking children away from their parents may have contributed to Ben Solo falling to the dark side
• As a result of these failings, Luke thinks 'it's time for the Jedi to end,' and he will instead develop his own philosophy of the Force"

Joshikins29 offers an interesting theory about the forces pushing Luke to reestablish the Jedi Order, namely the "Force Ghosts" of Obi Wan, Yoda, and Anakin. His points are laid out like this:

"– Luke is in a very, very dark place psychologically at the beginning of The Last Jedi due to all of the trauma in his past

– Luke needs Rey just as much as Rey needs Luke

– There are significant disagreements between the Force ghosts of Anakin and Obi-Wan/Yoda over how to proceed with Luke's new Jedi Order

– Obi-Wan/Yoda represent the traditional Jedi philosophy (e.g., taking force-sensitive children away from their parents and banning personal love), while Anakin wants to significantly revise this cold and compassionless philosophy

– Luke initially accepts the advice of Obi-Wan/Yoda, but then sours on them after Ben Solo turns to the dark side

– This significantly increases the influence of Anakin's Force ghost over Luke, and convinces Luke to develop a new philosophy of the Force distinct from the Jedi

– Luke eventually trains Rey using this new philosophy. In this sense, Luke is the 'Last Jedi'"

Redditor luke_pulverizer has a very interesting theory about Luke. Essentially, that he's not going to end the Jedi, nor will he end the dark side, but instead will blend the two. The assertion is that the Jedi Order is flawed, lacking compassion and, in some respects, humanity. The Order has historically saught balance only by destroying the dark side of the Force.

However, this Redditor points out that destroying half the Force unbalances it by definition. So Luke's aim is to meld the two. The theory predicts that Luke will try to train Rey to touch both the light and the dark side, but let neither control her completely, that he has essentially become this after seeing his father's redemption and understanding that it's not a zero-sum game. But luke_pulverizer warns this might backfire - Rey may turn on Luke, unable to keep the dark side at bay once she's tapped into it.

Obversa's TL;DR theory is four paragraphs long, so you can imagine how long the whole theory is, but it delves into a lot of Jedi lore to ultimately make the argument that Luke will teach Rey of the Jedi's origins and that together they will seek to recapture those ideals by destroying Force users. Here are the finer points:

The Je'daii philosophy (prior to the formation of the Jedi Order) espouses the balance between Ashla (light side) and Bogan (dark side). We see this in the trailer for The Last Jedi.

However, after the Force Wars, in which the followers of Ashla (light side) won over the followers of Bogan (dark side), the former founded the Jedi Order, "stating the light side to be stronger." In TLJ, Rey will seek out the teachings and perhaps even some sort of Force ghost version of "the First Jedi," AKA the Je'daii, in order to return balance to the Force.

As such, this theory also posits that Rey will do what needs to be done to return balance to the Force, a la Anakin Skywalker, the "Chosen One" of the Force. Anakin believed it wasn't destroying Sith, but destroying the Jedi that would bring that balance. If he's come to believe this thought as well, this would explain why Luke says "It's time for the Jedi to end."

Likewise, this theory may also tie into the one about Snoke that he is a holocron (ancient repositories of knowledge and wisdom that Jedi use to record and preserve their teachings) of an ancient dark side Force-user - one who could possibly be a Je'daii himself. Snoke could be a holocron of the first follower of Bogan, one of the first dark side users, and a dark Je'daii.