Luke Skywalker’s absence from the marketing of The Force Awakens had triggered many theories, including the speculation that he has turned to the dark side, with a few theories suggesting that he was behind KyloRen’s mask. None of the speculation came to fruition in Episode VII, as Luke was just hiding on Ahch-To till Rey discovers him. Marketing for The Last Jedi brought “dark Luke” theories back with vengeance, with many posters suggesting that he is not a straightforward protagonist.
While it is tantalizing, dark side Luke does not add up. A Luke that had succumbed to the dark side should have craved revenge and tracked down KyloRen and Supreme Leader Snoke. His exile suggested the opposite. But that does not mean that he did not give himself over and the red kyber crystal had rumored to hang on a necklace round his neck and the absence of the green lightsaber in the movie’s marketing may be key to figuring him out.
The absence of his lightsaber is an intriguing part of the mystery. After losing his father’s weapon and his hand during a duel with Vader on Cloud City, Luke had constructed a new, green-bladed lightsaber. Some think that the saber was lost when the 2nd Death Star was destroyed, but it can be seen on the young Jedi’s belt during the party with Ewoks on the Endor moon and it shows up in Shattered Empire, the canonical post Return of the Jedi story that features Luke Skywalker other than The Force Awakens.
The lightsaber’s marketing absence is not noteworthy seeing as there are many things The Last Jedi still is not showing, but Luke’s action figures do not come with a lightsaber despite the belt loops and hands. The fact that many posters and a few merchandises have featured Luke holding an old blue-bladed lightsaber, the one Rey brings him by the end of The Force Awakens, adds to this mystery. It is possible that he lost the lightsaber during the 35 years.
While it has not been revealed in images, it had been rumored that Luke will wear a necklace with a red kyber crystal in The Last Jedi. It seems weird that he will wear a crystal from a dark side Force wielder’s lightsaber and so it must be personal to him. Unlike Luke’s lightsaber, Vader’s red-bladed lightsaber was tumbling into depths of the second Death Star before it had been destroyed, so it is not a memento from his father and KyloRen’slightsaber is intact, so it does not belong to him either. There are many red lightsaber floating around on the black market and having been acquired by a cult called Acolytes of the Beyond, so there are red kybers around, but Luke does not have reason to wear one.
The Ahsoka novel and Darth Vader comics have specified that kyber crystals are not naturally red. A Force wielder is supposed to have a connection with the crystal they use to make a lightsaber, but crystals do not present themselves to or cooperate with wielders of the dark side. When the dark sider assembles weapons, they have to exert will upon the crystal, which causes it to “bleed” and turn red. This may be what happened to Luke’s old green crystal, which is why they have not shown the lightsaber in marketing.
Luke had trained a generation of Jedi, including his nephew, Ben, who turned on him, killing all the other Jedi. then Luke went on a quest to find the first Jedi temple and disappeared into exile. This is not like Luke Skywalker. So what may happen to crush the hopes and devotions seen in our younger Luke to turn him into an old man that retreats to an island and abandon a budding galactic war. He lives in isolation and thinks the Jedi needs to end.
The pieces of the collapse are available in the story. If Kylo Ren had killed the rest of the Jedi, he must have faced off against Luke. Based on the trailers, it looks like Luke was left for dead, meaning that his apprentice had gained an upper hand in the confrontation and damaged and disabled Luke’s lightsaber.
And he needed to rebuild his damaged lightsaber. The problem is that having given into his hatred, he must have caused the crystal to bleed during the reconstruction and turning his green saber red, a symbol that will be a convicting one for the son of Vader. Shocked by what he had allowed himself to become and fearing that if he kills Kylo, he will be perpetuating a dark cycle, he then retreats in search of ancient Jedi truths, wearing his kyber crystal as a reminder of his failure.
The Luke that we had seen in trailers for The Last Jedi may not have succumbed to the dark side, but he is living in fear and shame. This fear makes him wary of Rey’s ability but she will return hope to the old Jedi and convince him to join the fight. Or she gets captured, forcing him to rescue her, raising X-Wing out of the sea and reconstructing the lightsaber.
There are ma ny unknowns about the movie, giving way to a many shaky theories, but what makes this explanation convincing idea is that it is an answer that ties together many mysteries for The Last Jedi: Why did Luke run to exile and why are they not showing his green lightsaber? Also, why is he wearing a red kyber crystal and what happened when Ben had turned against him?
The audience does not need to know why kybers turn red or who AhsokaTanois, the visual image of Luke igniting the red lightsaber and blades turning white must be enough of twist on the classic Star Wars iconography to thrill audiences.
