Star Wars Novel Hints At Luke's Role In Battle Of Jakku

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New Star Wars Novel Hints At Luke's Role In Battle Of Jakku

By Taylor Williams

Published Oct 20, 2017

Ken Liu's upcoming novel The Legends of Luke Skywalker hint at the central Star Wars character's involvement in the pivotal Battle of Jakku.

Excerpts from Ken Liu's The Legends of Luke Skywalker, a collection of six stories told from the perspective of crew members on a spaceship, set within the time frame of the events of The Last Jedi, hint at Luke Skywalker's involvement in the pivotal Battle of Jakku.

The stories are told by young crew members, who view Luke as a figure of legend. Liu elaborated on his desire to write a book chronicling the life of Luke and the aura of mystery that surrounds him in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “It’s interesting to think about Luke as a character in the Star Wars universe because to many of us, he is this great Jedi, the hero of the saga, but to most of the galaxy, he was a figure of legend,” the author said.

“Most people have not met Luke," he added. "They don’t know what he’s really like. And like any kind of celebrity, tons of legends and stories would spring up about him around the galaxy. He’s a symbol for many people, even as he was this hero going on his own journey. So I thought it’d be interesting to try to write a book of stories about Luke that would treat him as a figure of legend.”

The excerpt hinting at Luke's involvement in the Battle of Jakku comes when a young crew member tells a story she first heard from an Imperial officer who had fought for Emperor Palpatine:

"I did not see any rebel star cruisers that could have launched the beams. In fact, the shots all seemed to terminate in the steadily spinning hologram of the Jedi, his machine of death, that red-striped X-wing, hovering over him like a trained bird of prey or a magician’s familiar."

The story tells of the wreckage of an Imperial Navy Star Destroyer on the planet of Jakku. As recalled by the Imperial Officer, a rotating hologram of Luke Skywalker appeared right after the bridge of the Star Destroyer was hit with a series of explosions. As the Star Destroyer fell towards Jakku and the Officer got into an escape pod, the Officer could only reason that the Destroyer was shot down by Luke.

Luke Skywalker appears next on screen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, opening in theaters on December 15, 2017. The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson and stars Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, and Carrie Fisher.