Question: What does Luke think happened to his mother before he meets Obi-Wan and learns that his father was a Jedi? Has this been mentioned anywhere?
raywest
4th May 2024
Star Wars (1977)
19th Feb 2021
Star Wars (1977)
Question: When Luke finds R2-D2 after R2 runs away from Luke's home, and then R2 starts beeping something and C-3PO says, "There are several creatures headed from the southeast!" Why then does Luke go to take a closer look instead of simply getting the droids in his speeder and getting out of there?
Answer: Luke is focused on finding Obi Wan and delivering Princess Leia's recorded message, which has intrigued him. Also, Luke is young, adventurous, and rather rash; he's curious to know what he's up against and whether or not it's necessary to flee or stay and continue his mission. He has a Jedi Knight's nature, and they do not run at the first sign of danger.
23rd Dec 2020
Star Wars (1977)
Question: Did the feud between Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker begin during the filming of this movie?
Answer: Kenny Baker stated that there was never an actual feud between them, though they were never good friends. Baker said Daniels never seemed to get along well with anyone on the Star Wars set. Daniels has since said that he didn't want to respond to Baker's comments.
28th Oct 2019
Star Wars (1977)
Question: How did Owen Lars and Beru physically age by 40 years between the time of this movie and the biologically previous movie when they should've only physically aged 19, and how did Obi-Wan physically age by 30 years when he should've only aged 19 as well?
Answer: There's no "official" answer, as far as I know, but the most common explanation is simply that life on Tatooine takes a greater toll on humans than on more hospitable worlds, especially in the case of those who simply eke out an existence as did Owen, Beru, and Obi-Wan. Tatooine also has two suns, which could also account for the apparent (as opposed to actual) age of its human inhabitants; much as it is on Earth, excessive sun exposure can cause premature aging of the skin.
Answer: There is no explanation other than this is about casting. When George Lucas made the first Star Wars movie in the 1970s, he never expected the phenomena it is today. Alec Guiness was cast as Obi Wan because he was a famous, well-respected actor who was perfect for the part. When Lucas made the prequel trilogy some thirty years later, there were inevitable changes, revisions, and inconsistencies about plot, characters, and so on. Obi Wan was re-imagined as a younger character when he first met Anakin. The younger actors who played Beru and Lars were probably cast because they had a similar appearance to the original actors playing the parts. Actors often play roles where they are older or younger than their actual age. This is quite noticeable in the Harry Potter films, where the actors who played Snape, Sirius, Lupin, James and Lily Potter, etc. were at least 15-20 years older than the characters they played. Audiences are expected to employ a suspension of disbelief.
7th Jun 2017
Star Wars (1977)
Question: What's wrong with Greedo shooting first? I agree changing it is pretty pointless, but what difference does it make? How does it affect the movie?
Chosen answer: This has already been asked and answered on this site, in the past few weeks in fact. But again: It doesn't affect the movie, but it affects the character of Han Solo and how he is meant to be perceived by the audience. If he shoots first, he's an outlaw, a rogue, and, in the classic Western tradition, quicker on the draw than Greedo. If Greedo shoots first, Han is just killing in self-defense, which does nothing for his character and makes the whole scene superfluous, other than establish that people want to kill him.
Answer: Also, Han shooting first places doubts about his motives in the viewer's mind early on. It establishes Han as ruthless, willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Might he turn Luke and Ben over to the Empire if he decides it's in his best interests? But having Greedo shoot first turns Han in to just another generic good guy.
Answer: I mostly agree with the other answers about Han, but his shooting first is integral to the plot and not about showing any ruthlessness. Greedo cornered Han and intended to turn him over to Jabba the Hut to collect the bounty on Han's head. Greedo told Han, while holding him at gun point, that he wanted the money Obi Wan was paying Han, then implied he was going to kill Han before turning his body over to Jabba for the reward. Han's only option was to kill Greedo right then and there. He basically is shooting Greedo in self-defense (or for self-preservation). As well as establishing what his character is like, the scene also serves as exposition that shows Jabba had put a price on Han's head, Greedo was a deadly adversary, that Han leads a dangerous and illegal life, and he was desperate to resolve his dilemma of living under a death sentence.
As a child of the 70's, I grew up with the notion of Han shooting first. Never gave it much thought, to me he was in a situation of kill or being killed. The debate seemed over a moot point to me.
18th Mar 2007
Star Wars (1977)
Question: Does anyone know how or if Obi-Wan was going to pay Han for taking him and Luke to Alderaan, if they had gotten there? If he had 17,000, why didn't he just pay the 10,000 that Han originally wanted?
Answer: In the next scene, after leaving the bar, Obi-Wan says, "You'll have to sell your speeder" to Luke. He replies, "Good, I'm never coming back here again." He also agrees to the price for passage, the extra is to insure that Han delivers them. No double crosses or selling them out to the Empire.
Answer: He didn't have it - he was presumably expecting that Bail Organa would provide the money on their arrival. That's why he upped the fee, to get Han to take him and Luke despite not receiving much money up front.
Answer: Obi Wan does not know or trust Han Solo. He had no money other than the 2,000 for Luke's speeder, but even if he had the full amount, he would not have paid Han the additional 15,000 until he had safely delivered him, Luke, and the droids to Alderan. He offers the higher amount knowing it is less likely that Han will just take the 2,000 and run out or turn them over to the Empire for a reward. Obi Wan had no doubts that the Alderan government would pay the remainder of the fee, considering he was there at Princess Leia's request and how important the information was inside R2D2.
27th Nov 2018
Star Wars (1977)
Question: When Obi-Wan tells Luke about Darth Vader murdering his father, Luke doesn't seem to have heard of Vader before. But he knows about the rebellion and wants to go to the Imperial Academy (so he can defect later). Shouldn't he know who Vader is?
Answer: Not necessarily. The Empire is infamous, but that doesn't mean everyone will know who their higher-ups are. I know who the Ku Klux Klan are, but I couldn't tell you who their leaders are.
This. Or possibly, Luke knows who Vader is but just doesn't comment while Obi-wan is talking.
Answer: For most of his early life, Luke lived a simple, rustic life. His aunt and uncle knew his parentage and no doubt suppressed information about the Empire from him. Luke is naive and still has a limited and generalized knowledge of the rebellion, most of which was gleaned from talking to friends. He has little awareness of who the key players are.
Answer: Remember that Luke was hidden on Tatooine as a baby, and Obiwan also went into hiding there, presumably as a protector to keep Luke's very existence a secret from Darth Vader. It could be that Obiwan remotely exercised Jedi mind-tricks on Luke throughout his young life to block any curiosity about Vader.
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Answer: It's never revealed in the original movies what Luke thought about his mother's demise. His foster aunt and uncle probably never knew her identity, and Obi-Wan likely gave little information other than Luke's name. They apparently learned at some point that Vader was the father. Lars and Beru probably told Luke that his mother died from natural causes shortly after his birth.
raywest ★
According to the recent series about Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan didn't even know, right away, that Anakin became Darth Vader. He thinks that he left Anakin to die after their fight on Mustafar, and Vader is literally a separate person. Only ten years later does he find out that Anakin became Vader. If you think this change is weird and unnecessary, you're not the only one.
It is rather weird, though it kind of explains why Obi-Wan, believing Anakin was dead, would reveal Luke's real name to Lars and Beru. Even so, it would have been wiser to use a false surname. Of course, it also makes little sense that Obi-Wan, after learning about Vader, wouldn't tell Lars and Beru to change Luke's last name to protect him and themselves. It sounds like a typical plot point revision after people notice inconsistencies in the storyline.
raywest ★
Good point. But I thought Force users could sense when someone close to them dies. Anakin could feel his mother's pain, and later, Vader says he felt that Padme was still alive.
Just more plot inconsistencies, though Obi-Wan, the one who inflicted the pain, would have been sensing as well as witnessing Anakin's agony in the moment, leading to him assume Anakin would quickly die. He probably dismissed any later Force disturbances he felt regarding Anakin, believing him dead.
raywest ★