The lightsaber is an iconic symbol of Star Wars and has seen a continued reimagining of style and colour throughout the Saga. Given the importance of the lightsaber to the Jedi story, I was intrigued when the first Last Jedi Luke Skywalker figure images hit and there was no lightsaber in any of the Jedi Master's packaging. I have never been one to read too deep into things but the reason this has my attention is simply because of how all of The Force Awakens Rey figures where initially released in 2015.
Rey figures from the Disney Elite Series, Black Seres and 5 POA lines were all initially released without a lightsaber, and at the time this aligned with what we knew about the film. Now in hindsight, this was done to protect the major plot point of Rey being force sensitive and wielding a lightsaber.
After The Force Awakens hit theaters, all figure lines released a version of Rey with a lightsaber. The Disney Elite Series simply just re-release a direct repack of the Force Friday figure, only with the blue lightsaber.
With the release of the first images (the Black Series SDCC 2017 exclusive and leaked 5 POA figure) of Jedi Master Luke without a lightsaber, I immediately thought of the initial Rey 2015 release and that Lucasfilm was again protecting a major plot point. One of the more convincing clues, outside of precedence, is revealed if you look closely at the hand of the Black Series figure, you could convince yourself that it is moulded to hold a lightsaber!
Luke HAD to be amongst the first wave of TLJ figures, so satisfying both the fandom and the desire to keep a film secret was going to be a difficult task, but one that could be accomplished with a temporary subtle omission of something like a lightsaber.
Disney/Lucasfilm has a history of tenaciously protecting their film secrets as showcased by #ReyGate in the build up to TFA. Disney was so adamant in keeping TFA Rey reveal contained that they issued a copyright infringement claim when a Rey (Resistance Outfit) figure was accidentally released prior to the film and a fan/podcaster posted it to Facebook. We know Disney/Lucasfilm will go to great lengths to protect the secrecy of the films, so its not out of the question that the absence of Luke's lightsaber actually means something bigger.
Initial Force Friday release of Rey & BB-8
Rey (Starkiller Base) release in the first wave of 5 POA figures (Force Friday) with out a lightsaber.
Re-Release post TFA of Rey with the blue lightsaber
Rey (Resistance Outfit) released in wave 3 with a lightsaber and the figure behind #Reygate
What could Lucasfilm be protecting in The Last Jedi? Is there an epic lightsaber duel between Luke and Kylo or maybe even the Knights of Ren? Has Luke sworn the Barash Vow, as suggested by Marc over at TSW on the latest TWS Comics? My personal feeling is there is something big being kept in the shadows of The Last Jedi as it relates to Luke and his lightsaber and I will make the prediction that we are going to get another release of the Luke figures with a lightsaber. We may have to wait until December 15th to find out what the secret is but until then, let the speculation begin!
Let us know in the comments below if you think there is something more to Luke and his missing lightsaber or am I just reading to much into it?
Thank you for reading,