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Star Wars character
Luke Skywalker
Position	Moisture farmer, X-Wing pilot, Commander in the Rebel Alliance, Leader of Rogue Squadron, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, Grand Master of the New Jedi Order
Homeworld	Tatooine (born on Polis Massa)
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	1.75 meters (5 FT 9 in)
Affiliation	Jedi Order, Rebel Alliance, Rogue Squadron, New Republic, Dark Jedi, Galactic Alliance
Portrayed by	Mark Hamill (Episodes IV-VI) Aiden Barton (Episode III)

Luke Skywalker (born 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars Galaxy, portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is the son of Padmé Amidala of Naboo and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and twin brother of Leia.

Luke plays a major role in his the Star Wars saga as he learns the ways of the fictional Order of the Jedi and becomes an important figure in the Rebel Alliance, leading the struggle against the Galactic Empire. He appears in the film Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. In the Expanded Universe, he becomes a powerful Jedi Master and eventually the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. He is the main character of the original trilogy of Star Wars.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early years 1.2 Involvement with the Alliance 1.3 Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi 1.4 Death of Luke's Uncle and Aunt 1.5 Mos Eisley 1.6 Rebel Alliance 1.7 Learning the ways of the Jedi 1.8 Luke and Vader 1.9 Vader turns back to the Light Side 1.10 After the Battle of Endor 1.11 Dark Empire and the Jedi Knight falls into the Dark Side 1.12 Jedi Academy 1.13 New threats 1.14 The New Jedi Order, The Yuuzhan Vong Invasion and the Legacy of a Master 2 Abilities 3 Casting 3.1 Aiden Barton 3.2 Mark Hamill 3.3 Joshua Fardon 3.4 Bob Bergen 4 Trivia 4.1 Comics Appearances 5 External links

Luke Skywalker and his twin sister Princess Leia Organa were born to Padme Amidala on Polis Massa at the birth of the Galactic Empire in Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. Heartbroken over her husband, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, falling to the Dark Side, Padme no longer had the will to live. She died shortly after giving birth to her children.

Jedi Master Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, recognizing the need to keep the children's existence hidden from the Emperor and the newly-christened Darth Vader, decided they should be split up. Leia would go back to Alderaan and grow up a princess, the daughter of Senator Bail Organa, and Luke would be taken to the desert planet of Tatooine to be raised as a moisture farmer by his uncle Owen and aunt Beru, Obi-Wan would then go into exile on Tatooine, to keep an eye on Luke during his formative years.

Luke had a fairly uneventful childhood on Tatooine, but chafed under the harsh life of a moisture farmer. Sometime in his youth, Obi-Wan approached the Lars farm bearing a keepsake for Luke: his father's lightsaber. Obi-Wan was confronted by Owen, who bluntly told him it was his fault Luke's father was the way he was, and he wouldn't have Luke following him on some "damn fool idealistic crusade," the way his father did. He was told to stay away, and keep out of Luke's life.

At age nineteen, Luke does what most boys his age on Tatooine do: when not working on the farm, he hangs out with his friends, flies his T-16 Skyhopper, and dreams of a different life. Most of his friends have already left Tatooine, and he is aching to transmit his application to the Imperial Academy. He has already become a fair pilot, and sees the opportunity to go to the Academy as a chance to become a star pilot and see the galaxy. His uncle, however keeps trying to discourage him from leaving, telling him he needs his help with "just one more harvest." Despite Owen's best efforts, Luke is very much his father's son. Little did Luke know that something was about to happen that would change his life forever.

The Lars had recently acquired two droids from the Jawas: R2-D2 and C-3PO. They were intended to be extra help on the farm, but what Luke and his uncle did not know is the droids belonged to Princess Leia of Alderaan. After Leia's ship had been captured by Darth Vader and the Empire, the droids used an emergency escape pod to flee to the planet's surface, where they were found and captured by the Jawas. While cleaning the droids, Luke stumbled upon part of a message the Princess had recorded: "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope." R2-D2 lied to Luke, and told him his restraining bolt was short-circuiting the playback, and that if Luke removed it, he would be able to play back the entire message. Luke removed the restraining bolt, and the hologram disappeared. R2 feigned ignorance, and told Luke he didn't know what hologram he was talking about. Luke's aunt called him in to dinner, leaving the droids in the garage alone.

Luke told his aunt and uncle that he thought the droids were stolen, as the R2 unit kept talking about Obi-Wan Kenobi, and wondered if he was related to old Ben Kenobi. His uncle told him that "wizard" was just a crazy old man who was probably dead. He was told to take the droids into Anchorhead the next day and have their memories wiped. Luke expressed a desire to transmit his application to the Imperial Academy, and his uncle protested, saying he needed Luke for the harvest, and he could transmit his application the next semester. Most of Luke's friends, including Biggs Darklighter, had already left Tatooine, and he felt he was stuck for the rest of his life. He stormed out of the dining area, and his Aunt Beru asked him where he was going; he replied, "It looks like I'm going nowhere."

Upon returning to the garage, he found R2 missing. Threepio told Luke R2 kept chattering on about Obi-Wan Kenobi, and left. It was close to dark, and with all the Sand People about, they couldn't risk going after him. The next morning, he and Threepio tracked R2 down in the Jundland Wastes. There, they were ambushed by the Sand People, and Luke was knocked unconscious. he woke up to find Ben Kenobi standing above him. Ben took him and the droids back to his home, where he revealed that Obi-Wan Kenobi was a name he used to use a long time ago, and that the message must be intended for him.

Ben presented Luke with a gift: his father's old lightsaber. Ben told Luke that his father was a great pilot, and a good friend. They had served in the Clone Wars together, and that his uncle's story about his father being a navigator on a spice freighter was a story he told Luke to keep him from following Ben on a foolish crusade.

He also told Luke about the Force, an energy that surrounded and filled everything in the universe, but that only a few could learn to sense, and even fewer use. Ben told Luke that his father was one of the latter, a Jedi Knight of great strength, and that a young Jedi named Darth Vader betrayed and murdered his father.

R2 played back the full message, and in it, Princess Leia revealed that Obi-Wan had served her father in the Clone Wars, and that her family needed their help once again. The Artoo unit contained the plans for the Empire's latest superweapon, the Death Star, and she needed him to take the droid to her father on Alderaan. There, he would know what to do with it.

Ben told Luke that he should accompany him to Alderaan, learn the ways of the Force, and become a Jedi Knight like his father. Luke told him he couldn't leave, that the battle with the Empire wasn't his battle, and it was all just so far away. Ben commented that that was his uncle talking, and he had the potential to be so much more. Luke told Ben that his place was here, for now, and he would be happy to take Ben and the droids to Anchorhead, where they could catch a transport to the Mos Eisley spaceport. Ben told him he must do what he thought was right.

On the way to Anchorhead, they came across a Jawa sandcrawler that appeared to have been ambushed by Sand People. Ben told Luke that it was not Sand People, but Imperial stormtroopers, who must have been looking for the droids they had in their possession. Luke realizes that if they were able to track the droids to the Jawas, they would be able to track them back to Owen and Beru Lars. Fearing the worst, he leaves Ben and the droids to tend to the dead Jawas and races home. As he approaches the Lars farm, his worst fears are realized. He stops the speeder and jumps out, running for the main door. There he sees the skeletal remains of two people... who could only be his aunt and uncle.

His home destroyed, the only family he had murdered by the Empire, Luke's restraints were suddenly and violently ripped away. He returns to the scene of the Jawa massacre and tells Ben he wants to come with him to Alderaan, to learn the ways of the Force, and to become a Jedi like his father.

They arrive in Mos Eisley, and Luke gets his first glimpse of Jedi power: Obi-Wan uses the Force to cloud the minds of Imperial Stormtroopers who stop and question him about the droids. Obi-Wan explains that the Force can cloud the minds of the weak. They make their way to a bar where the best pilots hang out; there, Luke gets another taste of Jedi power. An alien threatens him, and Obi-Wan quickly ignites his lightsaber and cuts off the alien's arm.

They meet up with a pilot named Han Solo and his co-pilot, a Wookiee named Chewbacca. They book passage aboard the Millennium Falcon. After a running firefight, they take off aboard the Falcon and run into two Imperial Star Destroyers. They jump to hyperspace, headed for Alderaan.

Obi-Wan begins to instruct Luke in the ways of the Force, "blinding" Luke by putting a helmet on him with the blast shield down. Luke "senses" the training droid, and uses his father's lightsaber to deflect its stun bolts. Luke feels it through the Force, and as Obi-Wan puts it, takes his "first steps into a larger world."

They arrive in the Alderaan system to find the planet has been destroyed. The Death Star's tractor beam captures their ship, and they are forced to land in one of the hangar bays of the station. They fight their way through the station, rescue the Princess and escape the Death Star. Obi-Wan confronts Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, and is cut down. Luke sees him die, and hears his voice telling him to run.

They travel back to the Rebel Alliance's base on Yavin 4, but are tracked by an Imperial tracking beacon. The Death Star follows, and the Empire prepares to destroy the moon with its superweapon. The Alliance uses the stolen plans of the station to lead a final attack on the Death Star, known as the Battle of Yavin. Luke pilots an X-wing starfighter in Red Squadron, and under the guidance of Obi-Wan's spiritual voice, uses the Force to send a proton torpedo into the narrow reactor shaft, destroying the Death Star.

Following the Rebel victory at Yavin, Luke is promoted to the rank of Commander and co-founds Rogue Squadron with Wedge Antilles, another Rebel pilot.

Desperate to find Luke, whom he recently learned is his son, Vader sends probe droids to thousands of planets across the galaxy in search of the Jedi hopeful. When a droid discovers the Rebels' new base on Hoth, Vader sent his elite 501st Legion along with the Blizzard Force down on the ice planet. Luke demonstrates his burgeoning power as a potential Jedi when he plays a key role in the defense, leading Rogue Squadron in battle using Snowspeeders, and especially when he single-handedly downs an AT-AT using his father's lightsaber, the tow-cable assembly from his Snowspeeder, and an explosive charge, before escaping in his X-wing, flown to him by R2-D2.

Following advice from the spirit of Obi-Wan, Luke travels to Dagobah to learn the Jedi arts under Jedi Master Yoda. Though he trains for only a few weeks, his great determination and innate power in the force allow him to quickly become strong in the force and a formidable warrior.

His training is interrupted, however, by a vision of his friends torture and pain in a "city in the clouds." Against Obi-Wan and Yoda's advice, he travels to Bespin to save them, only to be lured into a confrontation with Darth Vader. Luke loses his right hand and learns that Vader is his father. Vader wishes for Luke to join him. Luke instead drops down, and seemingly falls to his death. Instead, he is sucked into a garbage chute and falls through it to the underside of Cloud City, only to hang on to a weather vane at the bottom. Leia, flying away in the Millennium Falcon, becomes aware of Luke's peril through the Force. After a brief argument with Lando (who is reluctantly convinced by Chewie's malevolent howling), Leia turns the Falcon around to save her brother. While the Falcon begins its exit from the Bespin gravity well, Vader calls to Luke through the Force, but Luke doesn't indulge Vader other than reflexively responding to him as "Father." After he rejoins the Rebel Fleet that is hiding in an unnamed and probably remote system, Luke's missing hand is replaced with a prosthetic hand by a droid on the medical frigate.

After Luke is defeated at Bespin, his affinity with the Force grows more serious. One of the significant events between the end of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is that Luke returns to Obi-Wan's hut on Tatooine and constructs his very own lightsaber, exactly in the tradition of Jedi training (this is chronicled in Shadows of the Empire, as well as in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama.)

On Tatooine, Luke - with Leia, the droids, and Lando Calrissian - also formulate a plan to save Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt, who had acquired the carbonite-encased Solo from the bounty hunter Boba Fett after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke approaches Jabba to negotiate but instead is entrapped in a pit with a fearsome monster, called a Rancor. He defeats it but is sentenced to die by being thrown into the Sarlacc. With R2's help, he escapes, rescues his friend and slays most of Jabba's forces. Meanwhile, Jabba himself gets killed by Leia.

During his return trip to Dagobah, Luke learns from the dying Yoda and Obi-Wan confirms that Vader is indeed his father, and that Leia is his twin sister. Yoda also makes it clear that Luke still would not truly be a Jedi until he confronts Vader again. Obi-Wan grimly informs Luke that he must confront his own father in order to became a Jedi Knight. Luke insists that there is still good left in Vader, but remains deeply torn.

Arriving on Endor as part of a Rebel commando squad, Luke surrenders to Vader in an attempt to bring the Dark Lord back to the light side of the Force. He ultimately becomes a prisoner of the Emperor on the half-completed second Death Star, in orbit around Endor.

Once there, the Emperor and Vader attempt to bait Luke with promises to save his friends from certain death if he joins the dark side. When that fails, the Emperor goads Luke to strike him down to save the Rebels, who were losing the Battle of Endor. Luke, in a moment of weakness, momentarily lashes out, but Vader stops his strike, and father and son duel each other one last time. Luke manages to keep emotional control — until Vader telepathically senses the existence of Luke's sister and threatens to turn her instead. Enraged, Luke attacks with full fury. Vader is not able to hold his ground as Luke lands blow after blow and tears through the Sith Lord's defenses, and after a swift fight, Luke forces Vader on his back and severs his father's mechanical right hand. Just as he is about to commit patricide, however, Luke glances at his own bionic hand, and realizes with a visceral horror that he is right on the verge of suffering his father's fate. Luke regains control, deactivates his lightsaber and emphatically throws it away, passing the final trial given to him by Yoda and proudly declaring his allegiance to the Jedi.

The Emperor, realizing that Luke cannot be turned, unleashes Force lightning against Luke in retaliation, nearly killing him (in the novelization of Return of the Jedi, Luke was able to deflect the bolts at first with his bare hand, which is something that only Yoda is seen doing in the films). In horrible pain, Luke calls out to his father for help. In an act of self-sacrifice, Anakin Skywalker re-emerges, seizes the Emperor and throws him to his death down a reactor shaft. In the process, he is mortally wounded by the Emperor's Force lightning, which short-circuited his mechanical lungs and life support equipment. On the deteriorating Death Star, at the foot of Vader's shuttle, Luke removes the breath mask that had encased Anakin Skywalker's face for more than two decades, and looks upon his father's eyes for the first and only time, before Anakin dies and becomes one with the Force. The prophecy of the Chosen One is finally fulfilled, as Anakin has brought balance to the Force and destroyed the Sith. Luke escapes the Death Star's destruction with the remains of his father. Back on Endor, in the manner of a Jedi's funeral, Luke burns the last vestiges of his father that had been Darth Vader, and joins in the celebration of the defeat of the Empire. Luke sees the spirits of his Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan and his father Anakin. With this final victory, Luke comes full circle as a Jedi Knight.

The Expanded Universe detailed Luke's exploits following the Rebel victory at Endor.

One day after the battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles recover a message droid from the planet Bakura, which was being invaded by the Ssi-Ruuk. Luke commanded a task force, turning back the enemy army. He also met Dev Sibwarra, a Force-sensitive human who had been captured by the Ssi-Ruuk, who was killed in the battle after turning against her captors.

Four years after the Battle of Endor Luke travels to the planet Dathomir, and there discovers the Force-sensitive witches. While there, he assists in destroying most of the Nightsisters, and recovered old Jedi records left by Yoda about 400 years prior.

The following year, Luke meets former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, who was bound by a force-enabled voice by Palpatine that repeatedly commanded "You will kill Luke Skywalker." Although she was ready to fulfill that order to stop the voice, circumstances force her to keep him alive long enough to have him help escape a mutual danger. Despite her threats, Skywalker learns of Mara's curse and vows to free her from it, which makes a deep impression on the woman. Eventually, the desparate pair fight against Luke's clone, Luuke Skywalker, the apprentice of Joruus C'Baoth. During the fight, Mara Jade destroys the clone and, with Leia's help, destroys C'Baoth. Luke had previously been incapacitated because of the mental effects of fighting his own clone. Mara's deed silences her curse and completes her reconciliation with the Jedi.

Luke suffers a brief lapse to the dark side when he goes undercover as the apprentice of the resurrected Palpatine, who now rules an army of warring agents on the planet of Byss. The Jedi Knight fights nobly, but is bested by the clone Emperor, who forces his former adversary to bow and to call him "Master." Leia, who has let herself be caught, confronts both the Sith Lord and her fallen brother. She finds a Jedi Holocron where a prophecy affirmed that a sister would redeem her fallen brother before defeating the evil sovereign. With little training, the princess disrupts the dark side within her brother. Luke Skywalker turns against the dark side and vows to only serve the Light forever. He later fights the Emperor in a lightsaber duel and reaffirms his commitment to rebuilding the Jedi Order. Also, his enhanced powers allow him to become the first new Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order. He allows his sister to break the darkness within Palpatine, defeating and ultimately destroying him.

Luke resigns his commission in the New Republic's starfighter corps to pursue his Jedi studies and rebuild the Jedi Order in the Massassi Temple on Yavin 4, a decision some anti-Jedi politicians use against him. Luke becomes the Order's de facto leader. His students in the ways of the Force include: Gantoris, Dorsk 81, Kam Solusar, Tionne, Streen, Cilghal, Kirana Ti and others.

An older and wiser Luke Skywalker also appears in the Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy video games at the rank of Jedi Master. In Jedi Outcast, Luke helps Kyle Katarn in his fight against Desann and Empire Reborn by driving off Desann and his Reborn forces from Valley of the Jedi.

Years later, the now Jedi Master works again with his mercenary ally Mara Jade, who has learned to better her Force knowledge since her training at Luke's Jedi Academy. He falls in love with her, and they eventually marry. They have a son, whom they name Ben (after Obi-Wan Kenobi, who used Ben as a pseudonym).

During the conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Jedi Master reconstructs a new Jedi Council some months after the destruction of the Jedi Academy. He idealises a new conclave, made up of Jedi, politicians and military officers. Included in this new Jedi Order are Tresina Lobi, Kenth Hammer, Kyle Katarn, Kyp Durron, Cilghal, Saba Sebatyne and himself. From the politicians and military came new Chief of State Cal Omas, Admiral Sienn Sovv (Sullustan male) and four others.

He later spearheads the mission into the Unknown Regions during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion to find the mysterious planet of Zonama Sekot, a planet that creates living starships. After the invasion is defeated with the help of the new Mandalorian Warriors, a Sekotian fleet and a Galactic Alliance-Imperial Remnant fleet, Luke leads the New Jedi Order on Denon, the temporary capital of the Galactic Alliance and the site of the newly rebuilt Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

The New Jedi Order is eventually moved to Ossus, the site of former famous Jedi temples and libraries that were mostly destroyed 4,000 years prior, where, along with the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, serves as a base for the Order. Upon the Killik's invasion of Chiss space and the transformation of most of the Myrkr mission survivors into Killik Joiners, Luke determines that the Killik's collective mind is being unconsciously controlled by one of their nests called the Dark Nest. The Dark Nest is controlled by a former Nightsister named Lomi Plo, who became their Unseen Queen with her ability to become invisible by exploiting the doubts of inferiors. One of the Myrkr mission survivors, Alema Rar, attempted to plant seeds of doubt in Luke's mind by suggesting that his wife, Mara, may be somehow responsible for the death of his mother, Padmé Amidala, which he slightly believes because of Mara's previous involvement as the Emperor's Hand. This allows Lomi to escape from Luke as she is barely seen. Luke discovers recordings of Anakin Force-choking Padmé on Mustafar, his own birth, and his mother's death. Because of this, he is able to overcome his doubts about Mara and defeat Lomi Plo in the final battle of the Swarm War, cutting her into four pieces. Luke also withdraws the Jedi from Cal Omas' Advisory Council as he plans to create a Jedi Council that will give aid to the Galactic Alliance when needed. He also becomes the Grand Master of the Jedi Order to give the Jedi a clear sense of direction. He has told the Jedi to either follow his leadership and make the order their priority, or leave. Jedi Danni Quee and Tenel Ka have resigned because of their duties to Zonoma Sekot and Hapes, respectively, while Corran Horn has tried to resign, but Luke talked him out of it. Luke was also forced to exile Tahiri, Lowbacca, and Tesar Sebatayne to Dagobah for divulging secret information to people outside the Jedi Order. So far, this radical reorganization seems to have kept the Order together, but the consequences of such actions remain to be seen.

Most recently, Luke has begun having visions of a figure cloaked in darkness bringing about great destruction to the galaxy and Jedi Order. In his dreams, this figure's presence is much like that of his father, Darth Vader. Luke has been troubled by the fact that he has been unable to discern the identity of this being. Complicating matters even more is the recent schism that has developed between Luke and his nephew, Jacen Solo. Already a tremendously powerful Jedi Knight, Jacen has begun adopting radical and extreme interpretations of the Force, causing a dramatic change in his personality. Luke has become greatly fearful that Jacen is pursuing the same path that ultimately led to Anakin Skywalker's fall to the Dark Side. Increasing this concern is the fact that Luke's own son, Ben, is Jacen's apprentice. Luke must also battle his wife, Mara, who despite sharing some of Luke's apprehension, refuses to confront Jacen for fear of alienating Ben. Recently, Luke has determined that the dark figure from his dreams is Lumiya, a former Emperor's Hand now known as the "Dark Lady of the Sith".

Although he and Mara have agreed not to have any more children, a Force-sensitive prophet did tell him that he would have children in his future before he even met Mara Jade.

He dies at some point between 40 and 130 ABY, as he is seen as a Force Ghost in Star Wars: Legacy, pleading with his descendant Cade Skywalker to return to the Jedi Order.

Despite receiving little training, Luke's skill with both the Force and lightsaber are remarkable. Even in Luke's earlier years as a Jedi Knight, he is a powerful figure. During the Dark Empire crisis, he disrupted the Emperor's Force Storm, which had the ability to destroy massive ships. He confronted in a vicious lightsaber duel and with help from Leia and her unborn children defeated Palpatine. His niece, Jaina Solo, describes him in the final Yuuzhan Vong battle as a maelstrom of Force energy, so calm and focused that he was unstoppable. She also says his lightsaber looked to be like 10 or 20 blades all moving at once. Luke's abilities with a lightsaber and the Force allow him to prevail over thousands of Yuuzhan Vong warriors, along with other enemies. Also in the Expanded Universe it had been noted that as Luke got older he learned how to deflect force lightning through the Force and create his own force lightning, which is strong enough to kill on impact.

Luke Skywalker has been portrayed by four different actors:

• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (May 19, 2005)

• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (May 25, 1977)
• The Star Wars Holiday Special (November 17, 1978)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (May 21, 1980)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (May 25, 1983)
• Star Wars: A New Hope Audio Drama (1977)
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Audio Drama (1980)
• He reprised his role as Luke Skywalker for a speaking role in a commercial for Vector Prime, the first of the New Jedi Order novels by science fiction and fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, in 2000. In the commercial, he briefly recalled his past experiences as a Jedi and with the Rebel Alliance, and told of some new threat that he was unsure he could defeat. This threat would be revealed in the book as an alien species from another galaxy known as the Yuuzhan Vong. To view the commercial, click here or here.
• Hamill also played Luke in a number of comedy skits on TV over the years. In 1977, he briefly played Luke on The Donny and Marie Show Star Wars Tribute, and again on an episode of The Muppet Show in 1980. In more recent years, he's "reprised" his role by voicing both Luke and himself on shows such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Robot Chicken.

• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Audio Drama (1996)

• Shadows of the Empire (1996)
• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
• Star Wars: Battlefront II

• Luke's last name was originally "Starkiller." His last name was changed to Skywalker on the first day of shooting A New Hope, because director George Lucas felt that the surname "Starkiller" implied violence too strongly. Also Star Wars was originally known, at the time of writing the script, as The Adventures of Anakin Starkiller. The name "Starkiller" was later used in the Knights of the Old Republic game for the Taris duelist, Bendak Starkiller.
• According to an interview with Lucas, Luke was originally scripted to be female and to include the aspects of Leia. Luke was changed from a young woman to a dwarf and then to a 60-year-old general before being finally scripted to be a 20 year old.
• William Katt auditioned for Luke's role.
• Just as Lucas took the name "Anakin" from his friend and fellow film director, Ken Annakin, the name "Luke" is derived from Lucas' own name. Adam Roberts claims that '"Luke S" is a cipher for "Lucas".' in his book Science Fiction.
• The Dakin Building on the San Francisco Bay in Brisbane, California, an architecturally acclaimed headquarters building for several major corporations, is nicknamed "The Luke Skywalker building" due to its bold appearance of "good", and a nearby ominous looking building is dubbed "The Darth Vader building." The Renaissance Tower in Sacramento, California, and the Columbia Tower building in Seattle also share the distinction of sometimes being referred to as "the Darth Vader building," although the latter more typically is referred to as "The Dark Tower."
• Ben Burtt auditioned for Luke's role before he signed on as the sound designer of A New Hope.

Luke Skywalker appears in the the Marvel-published Star Wars comics adaptations of the original trilogy as well as an ongoing series that that ran from 1977-85. When Dark Horse acquired the license two-years later, he appeared in numerous projects based on the franchise as well.

Luke Skywalker
Publisher Marvel Comics (1977-1985) Dark Horse Comics (1987-current) First appearance Star Wars # 1 (Marvel, 1977) Created by George Lucas
Characteristics Species Human, from Tatooine Affiliations Rebel Alliance Abilities Nearly singular strength in and control of The Force; corollary acuity with a Lightsaber and Force-enhanced combat skills (leaping, running, reflexes, etc.).

• Luke Skywalker at the Star Wars Databank
• Luke Skywalker on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki