WARNING: POTENTIAL "STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS" SPOILERS AHEAD!
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Director J.J. Abrams has finally opened up about the mysterious absence of Luke Skywalker in all of the film's promotions.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Abrams cleared the Luke Skywalker mystery and revealed that "Luke is a very important aspect of the story." This means that despite his absence from all promotional materials for the film, Luke Skywalker will play a significant role, and potentially shocking to boot.
As the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" release date approaches, there have been quite a few plausible theories that have popped up of a possible reason for the Luke Skywalker mystery and plot and plot twists for the film, which takes place decades following "Return of the Jedi."
So far, based on the film's promotions, it appears Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) are the lead protagonists while Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is going to be the central villain.
However, because of the Luke Skywalker mystery, with Luke being absent in all "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" promotions so far, the whereabouts of the former hero has been boggling the minds of many.
It is a fact that Mark Hamill is set to return for the new trilogy, but because he hasn't appeared yet in any of the posters and trailers, fans have already filled in the void by concocting their own theories with regard to Luke.
Probably the most popular and shocking Luke Skywalker theory to date is that he has gone rogue following the rebellion, and that he is also working with Kylo Ren to destroy the New Republic - major "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" plot twist if this happens.
Of course, Director J.J. Abrams doesn't want fans to be led astray by any "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" rumor, so in the EW interview, he said that the Luke Skywalker mystery they have created is completely intentional.
"No one forgot about him! We were hoping people would care, but there are a lot of things that are not on the poster, as busy as the poster is. Certainly Luke is a very important aspect of the story," Abrams said.
While Abrams did not elaborate further on the exact details of Luke Skywalker's role, he did say that since the original trilogy happened decades ago, the former protagonists "Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia would be as good as myth."
"It was the thing that struck me the hardest, which was the idea that doing a story that took place nearly 40 years after Jedi meant that there would be a generation for whom Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia would be as good as myth," Abrams said.
"They'd be as old and as mythic as the tale of King Arthur. They would be characters who they may have heard of, but maybe not. They'd be characters who they might believe existed, or just sounded like," he added.
According to The Huffington Post, this would mean then that Luke Skywalker will be a complete thing of the past, hence his existence will be a mystery to the new generation. Furthermore, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) also said in one of the trailers for the movie that "It's true. All of it. The Dark Side, the Jedi ... they're real."
Coningsoon.net reported that earlier this week, it was revealed that Boyega's Finn knows who Luke Skywalker is because of his Stormtrooper training, but he could change his mind throughout the course of the film, especially after he gets hold of Luke's lightsaber.
"For Finn, he's been raised from the ashes of the Empire. He's been taught about Luke Skywalker, he knows about his history. For him it's like joining the army and then learning about one of the great enemies of your country," Boyega said.
"It has that effect on him. But in terms of the Force, and the magical stuff that happens, that is the point where Finn kind of questions what is what. What is the Force, what part does Luke Skywalker play in all of this?" he further revealed.
With Boyega also revealing in the Entertainment Weekly issue that the New Order told Stormtroopers that Luke is "a villain who destroyed the benevolent Empire," it's quite hard to digest the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" rumor of Luke working with Kylo Ren is true. However, the "Star Wars" universe is a complete mystery, and anything can happen especially staple secret alliances.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
