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‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Rumor Suggests A Whole New Luke

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 02:04 PST, May 8, 2016

Star Wars: Episode VIII may be more than a year away from hitting movie screens, but that hasn’t stopped the saga’s most intrepid fans from attempting to discern the highly anticipated film’s plot and posting every seemingly small detail online. Several rumors have already surfaced, and according to one that emerged earlier this week, fans may be seeing a whole new side of Luke Skywalker in the next Star Wars film.

[Potential Spoilers Follow]

The newest rumor regarding Episode VIII recently appeared on Reddit, offering what one user claims is a sneak peak into a very interesting scene. According to this individual (who asserts that they have an on-set source), Kylo Ren visits Ahch-To (the planet upon which Luke is found at the end of The Force Awakens) at some point during the course of Episode VIII. Instead of showing up with an armed strike force of First Order stormtroopers, however, Ren arrives alone, settling in for a chat with Luke and Rey.

While the conversation begins in a civil manner, the situation eventually erupts (quite literally), resulting in a scene somewhat unparalleled in the Star Wars canon. As Moviepilot points out, the scene seems to suggest that Luke possesses a power in the Force unseen in previous Star Wars films.

“A few weeks ago they blew up — specifically, blew apart — an Ahch-To hut. According to my source, Kylo and Rey have a conversation that Luke does not like. Luke tries to stop them. Luke gets angry, and the whole hut they are in disintegrates (re: ‘blows up’). My source did not specify as to the exact cause of the disintegration, but based on the info I believe Luke accidentally (or perhaps even purposely) does so using the Force.”

While the scene description does seem intriguing from a fan perspective, there are a few points that are worth noting. Luke is a Jedi master by the time of The Force Awakens, and he may well have developed any manner of unknown abilities in the Force over the course of the three decades following Return of the Jedi, as Cinema Blend notes. Yet while other Jedi masters may not have had the same abilities, they are still known for being primarily calm and collected, with explosive tempers reserved for the Sith (anger is a path to the Dark Side, remember). As Moviepilot points out, there is little to suggest that Luke losing his temper in a very non-Jedi way is anything other than conjecture on the part of the original poster (Bothan Spy). It is also worth noting that Adam Driver has yet to be spotted anywhere near Skellig Michael, the Irish island that served as the real-life setting of Ahch-To.

Lucasfilm has been famously secretive during the production of the new Star Wars trilogy, yet this latest rumor isn’t the first to make its way online. Several weeks ago, a purported plot synopsis for Star Wars: Episode VIII appeared on Reddit, as the Inquisitr previously noted. While incomplete, it revealed certain plot points that, if true, would dramatically change the course of the new trilogy. Its veracity has yet to be established, however, leaving its contents an open question at best.

Just as with any rumor that emerges over the next 18 months, these latest “leaks” are probably best taken with a healthy amount of salt. As early as 1980, when The Empire Strikes Back was in production, Lucasfilm was actively distributing both true and untrue rumors surrounding the production of the film in order to throw fans off their trail, as one of their former employees recently revealed in a Star Wars Day interview. Both accurate and inaccurate information made its way to the internet prior to the release of The Force Awakens as well (including a fully accurate plot description), so fans will have to decide for themselves whether they expect to see Luke and Rey facing off against Kylo Ren in Star Wars: Episode VIII.

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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