The brand new Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster that was released this morning is packed with all kids of imagery. There's brand new characters, characters from the original trilogy, recognizable spaceships, and even a massive weapon that looks a whole lot like the Death Star. As much as there is to look at, however, there is one very important piece that appears to be missing, and it forces us to beg a very specific question: where is Luke Skywalker?
While we know that Mark Hamill definitely spent time on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he has been all but completely absent from the marketing campaign. To date, all we've seen of him is a brief shot in the second trailer where he puts his robot hand on R2-D2, and even the Luke narration from that spot was heavily borrowed from Star Wars: Return of The Jedi. There hasn't really been any official explanation from anyone involved with the production as to why he's not on the poster or really featured in the marketing - but there are two possible answers that immediately spring to mind.
The first reasonable answer to why Luke Skywalker isn't on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster stems from the possibility that they want audiences wondering if the great hero is actually in the movie. We all know that J.J. Abrams loves to keep his secrets, and if Luke doesn't actually appear in the film until the third act, perhaps the director is more than happy making us wonder if he's actually in it all. If audiences aren't seeing the great Jedi warrior, they're probably not thinking about the great Jedi warrior, and therefore it will feel like an even bigger surprise when he does finally arrive on screen.
On the other hand, all of us know that Mark Hamill is in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and his name is clearly listed in the credits at the bottom of the poster. This leaves us with option number two: something has significantly altered Luke Skywalker's appearance, and the folks behind the film aren't entirely comfortable with exposing the hero's new look just yet. I could be anything from a jagged scar, to a missing eye, to a specially designed mask that actually covers his entire face. If this is the case, again, we probably won't officially know until mid-December.
With a brand new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens dropping tomorrow during Monday Night Football, there will be yet another opportunity to give fans a look at the older Luke Skywalker. But will they? We have no idea. For now, hit the comments section with your theories on why our favorite Jedi is being hidden from us.
