Episodes III and VII and Luke Skywalker Dialogue

Back in late January, Benjamin Hart (@BenHartAttack) from the Star Wars Underworld posted to Twitter that he thought Luke Skywalker may have had more screen time in Revenge of the Sith than in The Force Awakens.

I had never given it any thought, but now that it was in front of me, I had to look into it. Especially since a new thought hit me. I was pretty sure... no, make that absolutely sure... that Luke had more lines in Revenge of the Sith than in The Force Awakens.

Out comes Ep III. Into the DVD player it goes.

My plan was to watch only the pieces that had Luke visibly present. The plan lasted until the confrontation on Mustafar, and then I couldn't help myself any longer. Yes, I sort of hit play. Confession: There was no "sort of" about it. I plumb forgot the plan.

I also almost forgot to pay attention to Luke dialogue. I actually had to rewind a bit once I remembered. Not to fear; once refocused on my task, I used a notebook and pencil to make sure I got the details absolutely correct.

Here is what I found:

Immediately upon birth, Luke Skywalker began his life-long habit of talking. Well... lifelong until The Force Awakens, that is.Whether he has quit speaking entirely is a question that we'll have to wait for Ep. VIII to settle.

Unfortunately, I couldn't understand a word of what Skyguy Junior said, and a translator droid was nowhere to be found. The good news is that I possess an overactive imagination, and have decided I have a pretty good idea as to what he was trying to communicate. Just remember: None of this is canon, so don't be surprised if Pablo Hidalgo gives you a funny look if you ever try to reference it.

Perhaps Luke was disappointed with what the world looked like. Maybe he realized that the midwife droid was terrifying. My favorite theory is that he was already anxious to find power converters, and this sure as Kessel wasn't Tosche Station.

Being a fairly even-tempered baby, he soon realized there was no sense in throwing a fit yet. After all, he just got here. Things might not be as bad as they looked. In the second part of his dialogue he delivers some very amicable cooing, friendly advice, and an introduction which everyone present ignores.

Of course, the poor kid was doomed to have a rotten first day. He'd known it ahead of time ("it's a Jedi trait"), and soon enough he was crying and trying very hard to smack Obi-Wan in the face. The only problem being Luke's arms weren't quite long enough.

If Luke had anything to say when he was given over to Beru Lars, I couldn't hear it. Maybe by that point he'd given up. It wasn't like anybody was listening to him anyway.

All we know for sure is that by the time The Force Awakens came out, Luke Skywalker had decided that when introduced at the very end of a movie, it's better to hold off saying anything.

Or maybe those other people on Twitter are right and he was just trying to find the right way to tell Rey, "You were supposed to bring the hand, not just the lightsaber."

Hm.

Either way, may the Force be with you!