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Star Wars: Rian Johnson Talks about the Importance of Myths; Justifies Luke Skywalker’s Character Arc


The end of Star Wars: The Last Jedi had Luke Skywalker re-igniting his legend around the galaxy, and we saw a bunch of stable boys playing with a homemade Luke toy by the end. Though some can read this as a ploy to sell action figures, director Rian Johnson talks about the importance of myths and why he wrote that particular arc for Luke.

Talking at SXSW (via Phil Szostak), Johnson explained:

"Myths are not made to sell action figures. Myths are made to reflect the most difficult transitions we go through... To address middle age & beyond in a really honest way, the myths deal with disillusionment, starting to lose your place in the world and loss."

A lot of people took offense that the movie didn't end with Luke joining the Resistance at Rey's side, but Johnson believed that reigniting the myth of Luke Skywalker was the more mature arc for Luke. He explains:

"It would be a betrayal of [those myths] & Luke Skywalker as a character not to take it seriously enough to reflect that and just give us the waxworks version of Luke that we might love and expect."

Like every other fan, I would have loved to see more of Luke in the trilogy, but seeing that it's no longer his story, it's understandable how he had to be written off like that. If it's any consolation, there's probably a huge chance that we'll see him return as a Force Ghost in Episode IX.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now available for digital HD and Blu-Ray.

See Also: Lucasfilm Told Mark Hamill Not To Get His Hopes Up Over Luke's Star Wars Return

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