Luke Skywalker was the main protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, and fans finally reunited with him in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but what happened to him between the Original and the Sequel Trilogy? The Star Wars saga took a long break from the big screen after Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in 2005, coming back in 2015 with the first entry in The Force Awakens. This new trilogy reunited fans with Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo, while also introducing a new trio of heroes: Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron.

The Star Wars universe continues its expansion and is currently preparing for the final installment in the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which will also mark the end of the Skywalker saga. When the Sequel Trilogy was announced, fans were looking forward to catching up with Luke Skywalker, but the films haven’t really shared much of what he did in between trilogies – but other works have.

Related: Star Wars Backtracks – Rey Isn’t the Last Jedi Just Yet?

Shortly after the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, Luke travelled to the planet of Pillio, searching for artefacts from the secret observatory of Palpatine, where he recovered a compass (as seen in Star Wars Battlefront 2). He then planned a mission to an Imperial research base on planet Vetine, with the purpose of retrieving the last remaining fragment of a Force-sensitive tree. Luke recruited Shara Bey as his companion, and after some obstacles, they managed to get the fragment. Bey was the wife of Pathfinder Sergeant Kes Dameron and mother of Poe, and was gifted one of the tree fragments when she left the Alliance. Luke continued his search for Jedi lore in the following years, discovering the school of Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu and many lost relics, such as a Jedi Crusader pendant.

Luke Skywalker and Rey on Crait in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Luke then set out to begin training a new generation of Jedi, and established his new Jedi Order at a secret Jedi Temple, that only those in the order (and R2-D2) knew the location of. Among his Padawans was his nephew, Ben Solo, whom his parents sent to be trained by Luke as they knew he was feeling a calling to the dark side. Ben was influenced by Supreme Leader Snoke, and Luke sensed he had been corrupted. For a moment, Luke raised his lightsaber to end with Ben, as he thought that would be the only way to stop his descent into the dark side. Ben attacked Luke in self-defense, and the temple was destroyed, with the rest of the apprentices either killed or following Ben, who went on to become Kylo Ren.

As a consequence, Luke lost faith in the Force and the Jedi, and fled into self-imposed exile. He went off in search of the first Jedi Temple, located in the planet Ahch-To, where he lived for years, shutting himself off from the Force – what happened next can be seen in The Last Jedi. Now that Luke is one with the Force, it’s remains to be seen if he will somehow appear in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which would make this last entry in the saga an even more emotional one that it’s already expected.

Next: The Original Story Of Luke Skywalker's Sister (Before It Was Retconned To Be Leia)

Key Release Dates