What are the main differences between Luke Skywalker in Star Wars canon and Legends storytelling? Since 1991, major interconnected Star Wars stories have existed off of the big screen. These stories have been in the form of books, comics, video games, TV shows, and more – all encompassing the Star Wars Expanded Universe, or EU.
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That was until 2014, when the Star Wars canon was reset – and the EU became known as “Legends.” Since then, the new Star Wars canon expanded universe has begun, featuring new stories that factor in all the new live action projects. Because of this, Luke Skywalker’s characterization is different in the new timeline when compared to the old one, but also still similar in other ways.
10 Legends Luke Skywalker Had More Students That Fell To The Dark Side
The Fallen Students Of Skywalker
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Canon’s Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is well known for his role in the fall of his nephew, Ben Solo, to the dark side. This is a core and defining plot point of the sequel trilogy, and one that also happened in Star Wars Legends. Jacen Solo, one of Han and Leia’s children in Legends, becomes a Sith Lord. Jacen, however, was not the only case of this for one of Luke’s students in Legends.
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Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben was manipulated by Palpatine through the Force for most of his life, influenced toward the dark side of the Force. A misstep by Luke Skywalker ultimately left Ben feeling he had no choice but to embrace the dark side, and he became Kylo Ren, a key figure in the First Order. Kylo Ren’s heart remained deeply divided, however, even after he ascended to become Supreme Leader of the First Order. He was ultimately redeemed by Rey, with whom he shared a remarkable Force bond, and by the love of his parents.
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Kyp Durron, a student from Kevin J Anderson’s Jedi Academy trilogy, falls to the dark side due to Sith spirit manipulation, in one of the earliest cases. Desann from the Jedi Knight games was another one of Luke’s students, as was the evil Kueller from Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s The New Rebellion. Beyond these, there are even more examples of this, as the idea of a student of Luke falling to the dark side was and is a common story beat in Star Wars.
9 Canon Luke Skywalker Built His First Temple On Ossus
The Ancient Jedi Library World
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In both timelines, Luke Skywalker established a Jedi Academy where he could begin to reform the Jedi Order. In canon, Luke settles on the planet Ossus, an ancient Jedi library world from the time of the Old Republic. This is where Luke discovers several of the Sacred Jedi Texts, but this also bears a distinct resemblance to Luke from Legends in another way.
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In Legends, Luke Skywalker’s second central Jedi Temple was built on Ossus, but an Ossus that looks very different from how it appears in canon. In canon, Ossus is a lush, jungle environment, while it was a rocky, desolate wasteland in Legends. Like the Ossus Jedi Temple in canon, though, Luke’s first temple in Legends also meets a fiery end.
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8 Legends Luke Skywalker Built His First Temple On Yavin 4
The Original Jedi Praxeum
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The Legends answer for Luke’s Jedi Temple location took fans to a much more familiar world – and probably on purpose. Yavin 4, the forested moon of a large gas giant, and the former location of the Rebel Alliance’s headquarters, was where Luke established his Jedi Academy, or, Praxeum. This was a simpler feat as well, considering that Luke just used the temples already standing there.
The Massassi Temples have their origins in the ancient Sith Lord Naga Sadow, who had them built in his honor. Luke used these temples as the basis for his Praxeum, as seen in the Jedi Academy trilogy by Kevin J Anderson. After over 10 successful years, the Praxeum was destroyed by the extragalactic invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong, and a new temple was established on Ossus.
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7 Canon Luke Skywalker Had A Yellow Lightsaber Before Green
The Jedi Temple Guard Lightsaber
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Luke Skywalker first wielded his father’s blue lightsaber before losing it at Cloud City. After that, he built a new green lightsaber as seen in Return of the Jedi. Both of these facts are true in both canon and Legends, but in canon, before constructing his green lightsaber, Luke needed an intermediate weapon, and he chose a yellow lightsaber that he discovered on a Force-guided journey.
Related All 20 Lightsaber Types In Star Wars Canon Explained
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Adventuring to a Jedi Temple outpost on the stormy world of Tempes, Luke finds half of a yellow-bladed Jedi Temple Guard lightsaber shortly after The Empire Strikes Back. The saber was guarded by the specter of the Grand Inquisitor, who was formerly a Temple Guard before earning his rank within the Inquisitorius. Luke used it for the rest of the year leading into Return of the Jedi, before making a green-bladed saber for his final confrontation with Vader and the Emperor.
6 Legends Luke Skywalker Fell To The Dark Side & Palpatine
Star Wars: Dark Empire (1991)
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Everyone knows that Emperor Palpatine returned from the dead in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but fewer know that this actually happened in Legends as well. In the famous Dark Empire comics by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy, an undead, cloned Emperor strikes against the New Republic. Thinking he can resist the urge, Luke Skywalker joins the Emperor’s side to fight it from the inside out.
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Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious
The senator for Naboo, Palpatine rose to power and influence during the dying days of the Republic. In reality, his public persona was just a mask; he was really Darth Sidious, greatest of the Sith Lords, and he used his political skills and Machiavellian cunning to bring down both the Republic and the Jedi. Palpatine ruled his Galactic Empire for decades, until he was betrayed by his apprentice, Darth Vader. Even this wasn’t enough to stop the Emperor, however, as he was resurrected by his followers – only to be defeated once again.
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This doesn’t completely work though, as Skywalker falls prey to the same promises that the dark side always offers. It corrupts, and one cannot use it without an impact on their lives. Despite fighting against it as a powerful Jedi, Luke eventually falls to the dark side, obediently serving Palpatine. Luckily, he is eventually drawn out of it by Leia, and the two defeat the Emperor together, for the time being.
5 Canon Luke Skywalker Followed More Prequel Jedi Rules
Legends Didn’t Follow The Legacy Of The Old Jedi Order
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The distinction between the New Jedi Order in Legends and canon falls pretty clearly on one line: how much Luke adhered to the rules of the prequel trilogy’s Jedi Order. Fans of today don’t often remember that, before the prequels, the ways of the Jedi Order were not established based on the original movies alone. Many rules, like those surrounding attachment and training age, were completely new to the prequels.
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This meant that Luke’s New Jedi Order, established in the early 1990s, before the prequels, was run completely differently. It was created by authors with no knowledge of the prequel Jedi, and thus Luke Skywalker trained his Jedi students in a completely new way in Legends. Conversely, in canon, Luke Skywalker has a much firmer grasp on how the order ran before Order 66, and implements those methods of teaching straightaway.
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4 Legends Luke Skywalker Trained Adult Students (& More Students)
Quicker Generations Of Jedi Knights
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Another difference stemming from the lack of knowledge about the prequel Jedi before the films were released is the age of Legends Luke’s students. Luke in the earlier timeline accepted students of all ages, rather than starting young as the old Order did. This led to teenagers like Kyp Durron being recruited into Luke’s first class, alongside those as old as Streen, a gray-haired older man by the time he started his training.
This had another effect on Luke’s New Jedi Order, and that was the speed of progression, and an increase in the number of Jedi. Because training for Knighthood was not a 20-year commitment, Luke recruited more and more students who eventually trained their own students, making the Legends Jedi Order under Luke grow much faster than it did in canon.
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3 Canon Luke Skywalker Studied Ancient Jedi History More
The Holocrons Of Jocasta Nu
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For similar reasons to Legends Luke training older students with no issue, Luke Skywalker of canon ran his Jedi Order in a very similar way to the prequels overall. A large part of this was likely because of just how much canon Luke knew about the old Order. He had many holocrons, a big chunk of the Jedi Archives thanks to Jocasta Nu, and did a lot of investigative work studying the order – significantly more than Legends Luke.
Again, much of this is because canon works have all been created and released post-prequels. Therefore, Luke can feasibly know about these Jedi traditions, and uphold them. This has come to some criticism from fans, though, as it has changed the Legends idea that Luke heavily reformed the Jedi Order – because he had more knowledge of the past.
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2 Legends Luke Skywalker Married Mara Jade & Had A Son
Mara Jade Skywalker and Ben Skywalker
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One of the biggest changes between Legends and canon Luke Skywalker, though, lies with the name Mara Jade. Mara Jade, later Mara Jade Skywalker, was an assassin for the Emperor, who gradually reformed and eventually became a companion, and later the wife, of Luke Skywalker. Through this time, Mara and Luke both matured, and she eventually became a Jedi and Master at his new academy.
Related How Powerful Mara Jade Is Compared To Luke Skywalker
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On top of just Mara, Luke also had a distinct family line descending centuries past the original trilogy. This started with Mara and Luke’s son Ben Skywalker, who became a valued part of the New Jedi Order as well, playing a big role in the conflict against the fallen Jacen Solo. In canon, Luke Skywalker has indeed had love interests, but after the sequel trilogy, it’s impossible for Luke to have had a wife or child in the canon timeline.
1 Luke Skywalker’s Death Was Shown In Canon… But Never Told In Legends
The Ghost Of Skywalker Vs The Last Jedi
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Up to its end, Luke Skywalker’s canon life was very different from his Legends life. Unlike in canon, Legends Luke never actually dies in a story, with the furthest novel, Crucible by Troy Denning, featuring Luke as an older Jedi Master. Beyond Luke’s lifespan, similarities with canon actually begin to appear. 2006’s iconic Star Wars Legacy comics by Jan Duursema and John Ostrander take place over 130 years after Return of the Jedi, and depicts Luke’s Force ghost appearing to his ancestor, Cade Skywalker.
Similarly, in The Rise of Skywalker, the budding Jedi Knight Rey is visited by Luke’s ghost on Ahch-To. There, he offers her advice much like he gave Cade. In the prior film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, canon does something Legends never did, and killed Luke Skywalker. He dies in a way that’s incredibly reminiscent of the original Star Wars movie, where Obi-Wan sacrificed himself to distract Vader, so the younger heroes could escape on the Millennium Falcon – exactly what Luke Skywalker did, but with the entire First Order army.
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Luke Skywalker
The son of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Luke was brought up on the desert planet Tatooine. Initially mentored by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke fired the fateful shot that destroyed the Death Star, and he became a rebel hero. Despite the fears of Obi-Wan and Yoda, Luke’s faith in his father was proved well-founded when Vader returned to the light. With the Emperor defeated, Luke dedicated himself to bringing back the Jedi; his first attempt ended in tragedy due to Palpatine’s manipulations, but Luke’s legacy lives on in Rey.
Created By George Lucas Cast Mark Hamill , Grant Feely First Appearance Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope Died Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi Alliance Jedi Movies Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back , Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi , Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens , Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi , Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker TV Shows The Mandalorian , The Book of Boba Fett , Obi-Wan Kenobi Expand