Is ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ About Luke Skywalker’s Family History?

Is Star Wars: The Force Awakens plotline about Luke Skywalker’s family saga? Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said that, indeed, this will be the focus of the new trilogy.

In the original Star Wars trilogy, we met the same characters we will get to see in The Force Awakens. However, we will also find out what happened to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his sister, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), in the new Expanded Universe.

Leia doesn’t find out she is a Skywalker until Return of the Jedi, but it’s clear she has strong feelings for Luke. Other than the revelation that they are siblings and Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) is their father, we don’t know much about what happened to them between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

In an interview published on the Costco Connection, Kennedy clarified the difference between the Star Wars trilogy — which she calls the “Saga” — and the so-called Anthology series.

“The Saga films focus on the Skywalker family Saga. The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. The Force Awakens follows Return of the Jedi and continues that generational story. The Anthology films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines, and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars Universe.”

Kennedy also talked about the fact that mostly fresh blood is creating this new Star Wars Universe, with a little help of old pros such as Lawrence Kasdan, who is the exception in a group of young directors and writers. Lucasfilm’s president said that if you’re between the ages of 35 and 50-years-old and work in the movie industry, then Star Wars probably had a significant impact on your career.

Moreover, Kennedy suggests many filmmakers got into the business because of how Star Wars inspired them.

“Usually, the first thing out of their mouth is, ‘Let me tell you how much Star Wars has meant to me.'”

In this spirit, the Luke Skywalker family story is central to both Star Wars trilogies, and it seems as if we will see what comes next when The Force Awakens hits theaters in just two months. Many believe that at least one of the new main characters is a Skywalker. The obvious choice is Rey (Daisy Ridley), whose last name has been kept secret, according to director J.J. Abrams, to hide her true identity.

The fact that she’s hanging out with Finn (John Boyega) and, more importantly, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), leads most to believe she is the daughter of Han and Leia, who were involved in a romantic relationship at the end of Return of the Jedi. Also, when the casting for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was officially announced last year, she sat next to Carrie Fisher, which many took to mean she was her daughter.

Of course, this is pure speculation, but Rey seems to have that same indomitable spirit Leia showed throughout the Star Wars original trilogy. Some also believe Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) could be the son of Luke Skywalker, and Finn could be a descendant of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams).

[Possible Spoilers Ahead]

Another theory about Poe Dameron is that he is totally unrelated to any of the original characters and is instead the son of two supporters of the Rebellion, an A-wing pilot, Lieutenant Shara Bey, and Sgt. Kes Dameron, who help Luke and Lando on the second attack on the Death Star. These revelations are made in the new comic book Shattered Empire, which starts during the Battle of Endor, reports Comic Book.

Kathleen Kennedy didn’t share any other significant details about the Star Wars: The Force Awakens plotline, but she added that the popularity the franchise enjoys to this day is due to great storytelling, which will continue into the new trilogy.

[Image via Lucasfilm]