Warning! MAJOR SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Last Jedi ahead!
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At the end of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker dies. Following in the footsteps of Han Solo, the Jedi Master fades away, becoming one with the Force. This is a major turn in a movie full of shocking plot developments, but how exactly did it all go down?
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Skywalker didn't appear on screen until the final seconds of the film. All he did is turn around and lower his hood as he stares at the lightsaber in Rey's outstretched hand. He doesn't even speak a word! The scene is without question one of the biggest teases in cinema history, and it set fans wild with speculation as they discussed what would happen when he made his proper return in Episode VIII.
Related: Star Wars 8: Luke Skywalker's REAL Backstory Explained
In The Force Awakens, we learned Luke went into exile after his apprentice and nephew Ben Solo turned to the dark side and destroyed the Jedi Temple. Though it had been Snoke who poisoned Ben's heart, Luke blamed himself for his becoming Kylo Ren. In The Last Jedi, we learn how deeply that guilt runs and how much Luke dwells on his weaknesses and failures. When Rey comes to asks for his help fighting the First Order, he refuses, and when she asks him to train her in the ways of The Force, he responds, "it's time for the Jedi to end."
Luke has to be convinced to rejoin the fight and reopen himself to the Force, prodded along by Rey, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and even Yoda - who comes to him as a Force Ghost, delivering one final lesson to his student. Once Luke finally does come to help the Resistance, it's a pivotal moment, with his decision "walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order" - and Kylo Ren in particular - becoming the turning point of the film.
What Really Happens When Luke Fights Kylo Ren
What Really Happens When Luke Fights Kylo Ren
For almost all of The Last Jedi's runtime, the Resistance is on the backfoot, desperately trying to stay out of range of the First Order's cannons. On the planet Crait, what little remains of the Resistance's forces make their last stand from within an abandoned rebel base, hoping they can hold on long enough for help to arrive. They send transmissions with General Leia's personal code to the Outer Rim, confident their allies will answer - but no replies come and the few dozen Resistance fighters who remain are all that stand between them and total annihilation.
And then there he is, Luke Skywalker, arriving when all hope seems lost. He goes first to Leia, and the twins share in a heartwarming reunion before he turns to leave, winking at C-3PO, and walking towards the hanger door. As Luke makes his way through the rebel base, everyone stops and watches, the magnitude of what's happening registering on their faces.
Related: Star Wars: Last Jedi Confirms Knights of Ren Identities
Once outside, Luke is all that stands between the First Order and the obliteration of the Resistance, and when Kylo sees him, he goes berserk. The new Supreme Leader orders for all their assembled forces to fire on him, unleashing a barrage of heavy firepower towards Luke. But when the firing stops and the dust settles, he's completely unharmed. This only enrages Kylo even more, and he sets out to face his uncle and former master one-on-one.
Luke and Kylo's duel is unlike any lightsaber battle Star Wars has ever featured, intense and heavy with emotion, but also understated and without the flashy moves we've come to expect of modern fight scenes. This isn't to suggest their duel lacks spectacle. Indeed, it's thrilling to watch as Luke dodges Kylo's violent strikes with such ease, irritating his former apprentice more and more. But once Luke senses their duel has served its purpose, and he's stalled long enough to allow for Rey to aide in the Resistance's escape, he stands down. It's then and only then that Kylo lands a blow, slashing straight through Luke in one swift motion.
For an instant it seems as if Kylo has just struck down his former master, but shockingly, his attack has absolutely no effect on Luke, almost as if Luke were a ghost. And in a way, he is, because the Luke that comes to Crait isn't really there, not physically anyhow. He's an illusion projected through the Force and across the galaxy in a what seems to be a more advanced iteration of the means by which Rey and Kylo have been communicating via The Force.
In retrospect, the fact that Luke is never really there is so obvious - this Luke looks younger, refreshed, he's all cleaned up and in a new outfit. He's even shown wielding the blue lightsaber that's destroyed earlier in the film and not his own green one. Luke doesn't leave any footprints or kick up any of Crait's red soil and there's never any contact between he and Kylo, not until Rey and Resistance are safe and he can finally break his meditation and end this charade. With his job done, Luke vanishes.
A Peaceful Passing
The twist of having the Luke whom Kylo fights be merely an astral projection of his old master and not the real deal is a clever move, but what happens next is sure be what will dominate much of the discussion. After Luke's illusion disappears from Crait, the film returns to Ahch-To and the real Luke. In order to project his image clear across the galaxy, Luke has been intensely meditating, focusing all of his energy on the task as end. Once Luke stops the projection, he collapses from the strain.
Luke gathers himself and returns to his seated position on the rock overlooking the sea, now appearing more calm and relaxed. He looks out with a serene and hopeful expression on his face, gazing at the sunset - and seeing the binary sunset he would stare at longly while on Tatooine. As Luke watches the horizon, he slowly fades away, leaving only a pile of clothes, his robe blowing away in the breeze.
Related: Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Ending Explained
Many will be shocked and saddened to witness the most beloved Jedi in the galaxy pass away, especially after only just returning to action and reconnecting with the Force. But as Rey remarks to Leia - both of whom who sense Luke's passing - his death was peaceful and with purpose. For those who are strong in the Force, death is not the end but another beginning. As Yoda once told Luke all those years ago during his own training, "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." And though Luke has died, he is most certainly not gone for good.
One With The Force
When Luke looked on in horror as Darth Vader killed Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was shocked to see the old Jedi's body simply disappear. But as we've since learned, those Jedi who are at peace when they die and are strongly attuned with the Force can preserve their life energy and still communicate with the living after death. The first Jedi to learn this ability was Qui-Gon Jinn, though his training only came after he had already died, so he was only ever to return as a disembodied voice and not a proper Force Ghost.
It was Qui-Gon who then taught Yoda and Obi-Wan this technique, and when they died, they were able to manifest themselves blue and glowing Force Ghosts, offering guidance to Luke in his times of need. Now that Luke has passed on, it seems only logical that he was also taught how to do this. He did, after all, just demonstrate an ability that seems uncannily similar to a Force Ghost with his intergalactic illusion.
We won't know for sure if Luke returns as a Force Ghost until Episode IX, but the opportunity to do so sure seems too good to pass up. Mark Hamill's turn as Luke in The Last Jedi is being widely regarded as his very best performance, surprising movie-goers with his touching and nuanced portrayal of the weary hero. Having Luke become a Force Ghost, either to counsel Rey or maybe even haunt Kylo Ren, would give Hamill more chances at developing this wiser, more enlightened version of Luke, and we wouldn't have to say goodbye quite yet.
More: The Last Jedi Explains What Rey's Force Vision Was Really About
