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At the end of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi,

Luke Skywalker becomes one with the Force.

He looks quite exhausted after the encounter with Kylo Ren.

But what exactly killed him?

amflare
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TimSparrow
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3 Answers3

48

Luke over-exerted himself.

This Jedi had not moved since dawn. During that time, the mountain had quaked. A cliff had crumbled. The twin suns had begun to set. The moon had gone on the rise.

It had taken all his strength to do what he had done. The salt lines of tears on his face showed the incredible strain. Now that it was done, he could enjoy a few last breaths from the island that had been his home.

Last Jedi: Junior Novelisation

His efforts drained his "essence". Ben Kenobi then encouraged him to become one with the Force.

On the ledge overlooking the sea, Luke Skywalker floated a few centimeters above the stone. Pebbles hovered around him. His eyes were closed and his legs crossed. His face was strained, and beneath his gray beard the tendons of his neck stood out. Tears streamed down his face as he poured his strength, his very essence, into the Force.

Behind him the peak shuddered, shedding dust and chunks of debris.

...

Luke heard the wail of the wind and the cries of the birds. He heard his own faltering breaths as he struggled to get up, and the rhythmic thumping of his heart in his chest.

And he heard a familiar voice. Maybe it was real, or perhaps it was just in his memory.

Let go, Luke.

He did and his body faded away, leaving the ledge empty. In the spot where he had been, the Force rippled and shivered. But a moment later this disturbance was lost amid countless other currents of an autumn evening on the island, and the Force continued as it always had, luminous and vast and eternal.

The Last Jedi: Official Novelisation

The film's Movie Storybook also offers this version of events, suggesting that he's taken energy from the Force as well as giving his own strength.

Back on Ahch-To, Luke faded away on the meditation ledge, becoming one with the Force.

It had taken everything he had to project so much of himself onto Crait. Drawing that much power directly from the Force had consequences. But Luke was happy to pay them. His final act had saved Leia, Rey, and the Resistance.

The Jedi would continue, even though Luke would be gone.

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Valorum
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    Goose bumps...I couldn't bring myself to watch the movie again, but that voice wasn't in the movie, was it? – Quasi_Stomach Mar 07 '18 at 18:55
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    So, basically, hearing Obi Wan's voice was the last drop for Luke. There's only so much a man can take... – void_ptr Mar 07 '18 at 19:37
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    As Mr Hamill helped highlight yesterday on twitter, the film-makers forgot to leave his hand behind (I can't wait to check this when the dvd is out) https://twitter.com/HamillHimself/status/971199060014084096 – Joel Coehoorn Mar 08 '18 at 03:30
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    They also forgot to leave behind the ceramic filling from a root canal he'd had once on Dagobah from a dodgy "dentist" acquaintance of Yoda's (scene cut from the script last minute). You know... as long as we're splitting hairs... – jinglesthula Mar 08 '18 at 05:07
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    @JoelCoehoorn, that was addressed here, some Jedi take their mechanical parts and other belongings as they become one with the force – TimSparrow Mar 08 '18 at 19:57
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He metamorphosed into a Force-Ghost

This scene was the climax of Luke's journey. He has always wanted to be at one with the Force, to avoid conflict and achieve peace.

You'll remember in the little-known movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope where Old Ben (Obi-wan) Kenobi did the same thing when faced with Darth Vader:

Old Ben: If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine

*Gets struck down*
*Turns into air*

Luke has reached the final stage of his journey, he has ushered in a new wave of Jedi (whether he likes it or no), has defended and protected his most precious: his twin sister, Leia and the Rebellion; and has finally brought hope to those who need it most.

He then joins the ranks of Obi-wan Kenobi, Grand Master Yoda, Anakin Skywalker, and Qui-Gon Jinn and has finally become a Force Ghost.

But what did kill him?

I wouldn't say that his encounter with Kylo Ren and his super-force-projection was what actually killed him. Yes, it drained him, but he did recover and prop himself up onto the rock seat again.

From what we can tell about Force Ghostism, is that it seems to be a voluntary act. Those who have become Force Ghosts seem to give themselves in to their final state. Luke completed his encounter with Kylo Ren and his successful mission on Crait, propped himself up onto the seat, mustered the remaining reserves of his energy and let himself go.

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Möoz
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    Why do you think Force Ghosting is a voluntary thing? Obi-wan was struck down by a saber, Yoda died of old age, Qui-Gon took a saber to the gut, and Anakin/Vader suffered massive amounts of force lightening. No one that we have seen was in perfect health and went, "I'm gonna be a ghost!" – MivaScott Mar 06 '18 at 22:56
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    @MivaScott Obi-Wan let Vader kill him, willingly. Anakin died at peace after turning back from the dark side. Yodas task was done, he could let go. Only Qui-Gon was actually killed by someone else. – Polygnome Mar 06 '18 at 23:18
  • @Polygnome And you could argue that since Qui-Gon was the first, perhaps it worked a little differently. – Möoz Mar 06 '18 at 23:30
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    I just rewatched Episode 4, I'm convinced that Obi-Wan transformed into a force ghost before Vader's lightsaber killed him. You have to watch frame-by-frame, but if you do, you'll see that Obi-Wan's cloak starts to fall to the floor before Vader's strike hits him. See this question: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/153792/did-vader-actually-kill-obi-wan – LevenTrek Mar 07 '18 at 01:26
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    It sometimes is volentary: Qui-Gon Jin for instance was not "prepaired" to die, so his body was burned. Over the course of other tie-in materials, we learn that Obi-Wan has to learn to reach Qui-Gon in the neitherworld Via Yoda's help--so things rely on several things and it's clear from TLJ with Yoda's Force Ghost was "near materialization" that the mythology is still evolving... – Darth Locke Mar 07 '18 at 01:43
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    @LevenTrek given the relatively low quality of the entire fight choreography, I would consider the early-falling cloak a movie mistake rather than an intentional hint. If it were meant to be seen by the audience, it would not require frame-by-frame watching. – Tom Mar 07 '18 at 06:25
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    @Tom I respectfully disagree. The lightsaber strike goes "through" Obi-Wan's cloak, so it definitely wasn't one of their "make a real sword glow" effects. Instead, they would have created this particular effect in post-production, which means they chose exactly when to make the saber disappear. If they had meant for the saber to strike before the cloak fell, they could have easily made it so. – LevenTrek Mar 07 '18 at 06:35
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    @LevenTrek I don't doubt that they had the ability to make an exact call. I doubt that they did so given the context and the fact that you need frame-by-frame analysis to spot it. An intentional hint to the audience would be more obvious. – Tom Mar 07 '18 at 11:22
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    @Tom - re: Kenobi, the hint is that even Vader is confused by it, and we are meant to know he is confused, as we see him rooting around in the empty cloak with his boot - essentially a "wtf - where did he go?" – NKCampbell Mar 07 '18 at 17:46
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    @Tom It doesn’t actually require frame-by-frame watching, though. I remember wondering, even as a small child, how Obi-Wan just disappeared from inside his cloak without Vader even making any kind of contact. There was never any doubt to me that Vader did not kill Obi-Wan—he just vanished in a puff of whatever it was happened. The more burning question to me back then was why he basically just stood there, threw down his weapon, tucked in his arms, and vanished into nothingness for no good reason, rather than continue to fight Vader and buy the others more time. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Mar 07 '18 at 18:02
  • @JanusBahsJacquet To me it was always clear that Vaders lightsaber caused Obi-Wan to vanish. If he could just vanish at will, why would he wait for Vader to strike? It only makes sense if he needs to die in order to transition. – Tom Mar 07 '18 at 20:25
  • @NKCampbell, Darth is confused because he was never taught that ghosting existed. If I remember correctly, it was called out that he shouldn't be told about it. So the fact the Obi-wan vanished is a WTF. Ghosting destroys the physical body but leaves behind all material possessions. – MivaScott Mar 08 '18 at 21:43
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Earlier in the movie, when Kylo has a telepathic conversation with Rey, he first thinks it might be a Force projection, but he dismisses that idea because the effort across galactic distances would kill her.

This seems to be the technique Luke used, and it is probably the thing that killed him.

Carlos Arturo Serrano
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    In that telepathic conversation, Kylo doesn't necessarily reference "Force Projections", he just says "You're not doing this, the effort would kill you". It seems like he recognizes the effect as telepathic communication but also knows it takes extreme power, which Rey doesn't have yet. – LevenTrek Mar 07 '18 at 01:19
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    Also worth noting. This answer may explain what Kylo Ren thinks would have killed Luke. That does not mean Kylo is correct. Clearly, Kylo still has much to learn in the ways of the force. – Scott Mar 07 '18 at 03:08
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    @LevenTrek I think rather it's that Rey doesn't have the control yet. Luke and others reference Rey's "raw power" several times throughout Eps VII and VIII. It's the exertion and the refined control that help you avoid killing yourself when doing something powerful. – TylerH Mar 07 '18 at 14:43