JJ Abrams says Luke Skywalker questions will be answered in The Force Awakens

Of all the secrets Star Wars: The Force Awakens has impressively managed to keep under wraps, the mystery of what happened to Luke Skywalker is the biggest. The fan favourite has been notably absent from the numerous posters, trailers and TV spots released thus far, leading to rampant speculation about what's happened to the Jedi.

“No one forgot about him!" JJ Abrams told Entertainment Weekly. "We were hoping people would care, but there are a lot of things that are not on the poster, as busy as the poster is. Certainly Luke is a very important aspect of the story."

It's long been rumoured that the plot of The Force Awakens will focus on Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn's (John Boyega) search for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) once they retrieve his lightsaber, and that could be what Abrams is alluding to here.

Of course, it won't deter fans from hunting for specifics, although Hamill would rather we stop asking questions... "There should be no questions. You go in and it’s a brand new fresh approach at a franchise that we’ve known all our lives." Hear, hear!

Directed by Abrams and starring Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released in UK cinemas on December 17 2015 before opening in US theatres a day later. Check out our analysis of the international trailer below...

TOPICS
Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for 12DOVE, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.

Latest in Star Wars Movies
The Rise of Skywalker
Despite those retirement reports, Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is "very involved" in the Rey Star Wars movie, according to Daisy Ridley
Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
After 26 years, a secret Star Wars reference to George Lucas has been uncovered: "We got a new Phantom Menace Easter Egg before GTA 6"
Liam Neeson in The Phantom Menace
"Wise mentor" or "awful Jedi"? Star Wars fans are debating if Qui-Gon Jinn is to blame for Anakin's turn to the dark side
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Longlegs director pitches horrifying Star Wars movie with Darth Vader, and we want it to happen
Werner Herzog in The Mandalorian
Star Wars fans are sharing their favorite unbelievable canon cameos – and some of them are seriously deep-cut
Kathleen Kennedy standing with a bunch of Stormtroopers
Star Wars' Kathleen Kennedy debunks retirement reports, as she shares plans for the future of Lucasfilm: "I will die making movies"
Latest in News
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
The creator of upcoming life sim Inzoi says he was "recklessly brave to even think about creating a game of this scale"
Rise of the Ronin
A year after its PS5 launch, Rise of the Ronin debuts on PC to "Mixed" reviews and performance complaints: "Stuttering on a 4090 is just... no"
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog