Luke Skywalker has had a rough old time of it, hasn’t he? He’s kissed his sister, indirectly killed his dad, had a hand lopped off, and, if an early draft of Star Wars: The Last Jedi had come to fruition, he would’ve lost his sight too. Thankfully, director Rian Johnson saw sense and decided against it.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, the Star Wars 8 director opened up about going down the well-trodden Star Wars path of Samurai influences, including having a sight-impaired mentor: “I had a brief idea I was chasing where I was like, 'What if Luke is blind? What if he's, like, the blind samurai?' But we didn't do it. You're welcome. Didn't stick.”
Johnson also mentions that this was before even Star Wars: Rogue One’s Chirrut arrived on the scene, so any connection there is probably minimal at best. It’s interesting, though, that these Original Trilogy cast members aren’t bulletproof when it comes to big, sweeping changes.
We already had Han being murdered in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (sorry, spoilers) and, now, even the talk of having Luke lose his sight opens up the chance for similar big names to come away from The Last Jedi with a lot more than a few bumps and bruises. It raises the stakes considerably going into December.
It’s unlikely, though, now Johnson has shown his hand that they’ll go to that well anytime soon – but does it hint at more anguish to come for Luke…?
For more Star Wars: The Last Jedi articles to tide you over until the movie’s release (not long to go now!), be sure to have a look at the South Korean poster that’s hinting at someone switching sides, and also, Chewie takes on a Porg in this new TV spot. And wins. Duh.
Image: Lucasfilm
