The wait for the next film will be a long one. Fans growing up on this new trilogy will be five years older by the time the story wraps up. Everyone will be asking the same questions and the films to come should provide answers. For me, I feel the what needs answering — along with presenting my theory in what may transpire — is key to making this sequel trilogy fulfilling.
In A New Hope, Han Solo said, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” A lot happened since then to change his mind but what was that defining moment that totally changed his mind when he admitted to Rey that The Force is real? He gave a long enough speech to reveal he is a believer. However, as revealed in the classic trilogy, he spent more time with Luke in Ep 4 than in 5 or 6. The time he witnessed Luke’s supernatural skill was when he levitated C-3PO — which is hardly spectacular. I like to know if he had his own Force experience … could it have been when his son was born?
Rey‘s ability to use The Force is a surprise and the way it emerged harkens to how Ezra Bridger discovered his ability in Star Wars: Rebels. In her dream (flashback) sequence, the writers suggest she was abandoned by her parents but who is she the child of? Leia Organa and Han had one child that’s fully acknowledged (Ben) but did they have another one in hopes he can see the light and find love for a younger sibling? The idea is selfish but there is no tighter kinship than that of brother and sister. We have to consider how much Leia is concerned for Luke Skywalker when he “disappeared.” I don’t think Han immediately left Leia after Ben turned bad.
In order to stay invisible, Luke had to keep moving but why would he want to leave a trail for someone to eventually find? Only a chosen few, like R2-D2, could be entrusted with partial information so who else beyond Lor San Tekka knew? Could Maz Kanata be another?
Eventually, the film shows the map charting his route and where he made stops. those locations must mean something, like where he can get fuel or they marked treasure. The movie eventually states he went off in search of an ancient Jedi temple (rumoured to house a legendary power) as part of his exile he’s doing it for a reason and that may be perhaps to reconnect with Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi again for guidance. He failed as a Jedi Master and who better to consult than his own teachers.
I have to wonder if the map locations included where his original lightsaber (he inherited from his father, Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker and lost due to the events in Empire Strikes Back) got traded. I wonder who found it? Did Luke go back to Bespin to locate this missing object or did someone else? If Luke was indeed the person, did he want his saber in order to help communicate with Anakin? He might have tried and in what he learned about embracing the Dark Side of the Force is what sent him into hiding instead of what everyone else believes — when he lost a padawan to the Dark Side. One telling clue is revealed in The Clone Wars season two episode, “Lightsaber Lost.” Ahsoka Tano said, “He [Anakin] tells me over and over, ‘Your lightsaber is your life; don’t lose it.'”
It’s safe to assume that the welders experiences are imprinted upon the lightsaber he or she owns. Some wielders may go through a few over the years due to damage, but that’s only in the electronics. Young Padawans have to go through an intensive trial before a Kaiburr crystal presents itself for a new warrior to take and use to build their saber. In the episode, “Path of the Jedi” in Star Wars: Rebels, Ezra underwent a very intensive psychological test before he would find a crystal himself.
To hear Luke’s original lightsaber call to Rey begs a greater mystery, and that’s easily answered in the new Star Wars canon itself. The lightsaber (the crystal itself) is alive. The core of this weapon knows its master much like how the wands in Harry Potter identifies who its true owner is. Viewers have to notice how Ren tried to summon it to his hands and it resisted. When it did fly, it flew easily towards Rey instead. She’s undisciplined, but yet her psychokinesis is more powerful.
Other questions going on in my head is in why Ren wants Vader/Anakin’s lightsaber so bad? Does it hold a key to resurrecting Vader or the Sith? Or does he simply need it to complete his training to become a true Sith? Or does Luke / Vader’s original lightsaber represent a different kind of beacon, like that of the Spear of Destiny? J.J. Abrams did reveal he wanted to make connections to the historical past where he wanted to answer the question of how would the Nazi party continue. Perhaps that included looking for archaeological artifacts to wave around like a flag.
That includes the banner in how the Sith operate. Are they truly gone? Throughout the series, this order have always lurked in the shadows and they are the traditional enemies of the Jedi. Supreme Leader Snoke revealed he knows how to use the Dark Side of the Force but does his knowledge make him a Sith Lord? And could he be identified with a former member of this order from the prequel trilogy? In Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious revealed to Anakin that his former master (Darth Plagueis) looked for the key to achieving immortality. Supposedly, he never found his Philosopher’s Stone. Or maybe he did and allowed himself to be murdered by Sidious to assume the mantle.
One good story-arc to tie all nine movies together is to have Plagueis bide his time to rule the Galaxy when the forces of good and evil are at its weakest; neither were getting the upper hand in Episode 7.
Although, Luke and his Jedi disciples may have discovered clues to a greater evil at work when they were training at some old school buried with secrets. That can explain Ren’s transition — he may have found notes about Plagueis, and presented it to Luke. The new Jedis, while training, may have gone to look for his grave. Maybe Luke’s mistake was to allow Ren to persuade him to look into this. Maybe the Jedi Temple was built to prevent this former Sith from awakening. Instead of being deceased, he may be a psychic vampire.
The original movies made one fact well known: The Force is strong in the Skywalker family and that is why Luke was sought after. He’s needed to either help put the forces of good into a higher position of cleaning up the last of the Empire / the First Order or he has to be killed because the First Order fears him. His death will prevent new Jedis from appearing but there has to be more to the motives than seeking out the last Jedi to exterminate an old way of thinking. The future is at stake, and the galaxy needs a united front before peace can spread throughout all the systems. In this galaxy, the stake raised is in who will have absolute control. Balance requires both sides having equal opportunity instead of domination.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer