After Obi-Wan Kenobi’s opening episodes established the cold relationship between Owen Lars, the Jedi, the Skywalker history, and Kenobi, fans are curious as to why Lars kept Luke’s name as Skywalker.
Lars has featured prominently in the series thus far, still fuming with the titular Jedi over the failures of the order, and Obi-Wan’s inability to truly stop Anakin before he became the worst dude in the galaxy. But the big question is about Luke — why would you keep his last name as Skywalker?
After all, why would a child in hiding from Darth Vader and the Empire just seemingly stick by his father’s last name? Why not just adopt Lars? Reddit, the hive of big brain galactic takes is on the case, with many presenting their thoughts after a post was made to /r/FanTheories by /u/Funkguerilla.
The original post suggests it’s due to Owen wishing to honor the memory of his dead stepmother Shmi (who may or may not have been a slave under his father). But, the comments are very much in disagreement over this. There are a plethora of issues people take with this theory, such as that perhaps Lars wanted Luke to be found and fulfill his training.
Or maybe George Lucas just didn’t plan everything out way ahead of time.
Others pitch the idea that Vader would never have known his kids were born, as Emperor Palpatine told him that she died long before giving birth. There’s also the possibility Vader knew but is just a bit of a deadbeat dad, which also feels very Star Wars.
Citing real-world examples, others are completely dismissive of this even being a controversy. In a galaxy as large as the one seen in Star Wars, is Skywalker actually that rare a name? Could it just be the “Smith” or “Johnson” of space?
The wars in the stars will continue to capture streaming audiences anyway, as the internet awaits the final episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
