Although there is still some time to go before The Last Jedi’s novelization comes out, but, a lucky fan managed to get an advanced copy. It is well-known that Rian Johnson assisted Jason Fry with a few elements which were not a part of the cinematic version. It was also known that there would be mention of Han Solo’s funeral, the coming together of Rose and Paige Tico, and some kind of history to Canto Bight. But, The Last Jedi novel starts in a fascinating style where Luke Skywalker is shown to be on Tatooine with his spouse. Does that imply Mara Jade is canon?
The Last Jedi’s novel opens with this line, “Luke Skywalker stood in the cooling sands of Tatooine, his wife by his side.” So did Luke Skywalker get married between the course of Return of The Jedi and The Force Awakens? It is known that he was shown to be married in the non-canon Star Wars Legends books, and we wonder whether she helped Luke set up his Jedi Order? If that was true then was she killed by Kylo and the Knights of Ren at the time of their destruction of the Jedi Temple? One question which ends this whole speculation is: What was the purpose of Luke Skywalker’s stay on Tatooine?
Although it is quite intriguing to think of a married Luke Skywalker leading a settled life, it is not in sync with The Last Jedi. Luke is ‘married’ with the Force, and this might be a vision seen by him during meditation. He let go of everything in order to establish the power of Jedi Order once more, and he was backstabbed by his nephew (who backstabbed whom also depends on your perspective) and ended up losing everything which compelled him to go on a self-imposed exile on the remote planet Ahch-To. We believe this would have been a stunning way to get The Last Jedi going on the big screen and to explain the grumpy, fatigued appearance of Luke. He has been able to visualize what might have happened in the eventuality of his deserting the Force.
The initial Star Wars novels had shown Luke to have a wife named Mara Jade, but, they are all non-canon now, and a lot of fans were keen to see whether her story was depicted in The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi, but, that didn’t happen. Disney introduced some of the Star Wars Legends into the main cinematic canon, and Mara Jade wasn’t able to make it through, though, she would have certainly enhanced the emotional depth of Luke’s exile on Ahch-To. Also if she had been given a slight reference, even if it were to be just through a meditation scene, it would have still delighted the loyal hardcore Star Wars fans.
These hardcore fans have a lot of issues with The Last Jedi, and one of those is the darker portrayal of Luke Skywalker by Rian Johnson. No doubt, there is always more than enough of a story to accommodate in a movie. However, this scene might have been greatly helpful in making fans understand the reason why Luke was shown that way in the movie. Johnson was aware of it, and so was Mark Hamill, but, they had to keep it hidden until the release of the novel.
Typically, Star Wars fans get to read the film’s novel as soon as the film premieres, but, Lucasfilm and Rian Johnson chose to defy the trend this time around, linking the novel’s release to the digital and Blu-ray. Luke’s personal story is apparently more depressing than assumed. Therefore we must give some credit to Rian Johnson. Further bits of information might emerge from the book which will add substance to The Last Jedi story. The book will be available in stores on March 6th. This report was brought forward by Dork Side of the Force.
