Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker Is A Clone - A Wild Star Wars Theory Explained
Even though George Lucas doesn't consider Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) the main character of "Star Wars," he's undoubtedly vital to the galaxy far, far away. Fans of the "Star Wars" franchise have seen pretty much every major chapter of his life explored in some form of media. Even his death and return as a Force ghost have been touched on, prolonging his already thorough history. But some questions and theories still surround Luke, with fans speculating that there could be more to his story. One of these theories even goes as far as claiming that, somewhere along the line, Luke was cloned and replaced.
"The reason Luke seems so peculiar in the latest trilogy is that he is a clone. The original Luke discovered him, trained him, and left him to run the Jedi school while he ventured off to explore the unknown regions," wrote Redditor u/MahoganyMr, claiming that the Luke seen in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy is merely a copy of the original trilogy's version. This, they say, explains his uncertainty and hesitation to help out the Resistance and recontextualizes his sacrifice as a way to honor the original Luke and his legacy. They added that perhaps the real Luke has been hinted at on "The Mandalorian," with the full revelation that he has a clone yet to come.
Not only is this theory quite outlandish and likely untrue, but the concept of a cloned Luke is far from original.
The idea of a Luke clone is far from new
Surprisingly, a lot of clone Luke Skywalker talk has cropped up in the Disney era of "Star Wars." For instance, in the "Darth Vader" comic series, it's seemingly teased that a major villain was secretly a Luke clone all along. Another fan theory stems from the "Ahsoka" series on Disney+, where some posit that a different antagonist controversially resurrected the dead Luke clone idea in a new body. Minutiae aside, both of these theories owe their existence to one of the most popular "Star Wars" Expanded Universe works ever to be committed to print.
Back in the 1990s, author Timothy Zahn gave "Star Wars" fans the now-legendary "Heir to the Empire" trilogy. The book series takes place after the Battle of Endor and chronicles the continued adventures of Luke and his allies against the Imperial remnant — led by a debuting Grand Admiral Thrawn. Along the way, Luke encounters a clone of himself who's inventively named Luuke. He's created by Thrawn under the influence of the dark Jedi clone Joruus C'Baoth using DNA from the original Luke's severed hand. Luuke meets his end at the hands of Mara Jade during his duel with Luke on Mount Tantiss.
Decades after Luuke came and went, Zahn's influence seems to persist as fans theorize that a canon version of a Luke clone will emerge in some form.