The "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" trailer that released during "Monday Night Football" has broken several records, as previously reported, but one noticeable issue was the absence of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Luke is arguably the main character of the brand but he has been signficantly missing from the trailers and all marketing materials.
His voice is heard during the second teaser trailer but the line spoken is derivative of his dialogue from "Return of the Jedi." His face is never seen throughout any of the trailers, the official poster, books, and there are no tie-in toys that reveal the elder version of the character.
According to a report from Screen Rant, director J.J. Abrams has been able to comment on this while being interviewed on the red carpet of the GLSEN Respect Awards.
"These are good questions to be asking. I can't wait for you to find out the answer," the director says. "It's no accident."
The report points out that this response is perfectly what fans would expect Abrams to say given that the director is known for keeping secrets regarding his films up to the day they release.
Back when he was directing "Star Trek Into Darkness," many speculated Benedict Cumberbatch was playing Kahn but Abrams denied this even when the speculation was true.
Why Luke Skywalker is missing from the trailer and promotional materials continues to baffles fans and there are also speculations that Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is actually Luke Skywalker or that Luke has turned to the dark side and is responsible for forming the evil, sith-like Knights of Ren which Kylo is a part of.
It is possible that Luke's appearance will giveaway too many hints, which is why he has been kept in the dark while Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and even Leia (Carrie Fisher) are prominently shown throughout the film's marketing campaign.
Whatever reason Abrams has to hide Luke will be revealed when the film opens nationwide on Dec. 18.
