Star Wars Should Follow Through on Luke’s Clone (But Change His Name)
Clones have always been a huge part of Star Wars canon, from the Clone Wars creating Jango Fett duplicates to Expanded Universe variations where even Force users could be cloned–like one of the main protagonists of the series, Luke Skywalker. While the clones of the Clone Wars were regarded with immense praise from fans, most were not okay with Jedi or Sith being cloned, especially not the idolic Luke. However, in light of recent developments within the Star Wars universe, the series actually should follow through on Luke’s clone as the possibility of one’s existence has been heavily teased–though if that were to happen, Star Wars would have to change the clone’s name as the original Legends version was downright embarrassing.
The original clone of Luke Skywalker made his first appearance in the Star Wars: Legends novel series known as The Thrawn Trilogy. In these books–which acted as sequels to the original trilogy–the insane clone of another Jedi, Joruus C’baoth, used the genetic material of Luke’s severed hand (the one cut off by Darth Vader in Episode V) and created an evil clone of the Jedi. By the end of the trilogy, Luke even battled his clone in lightsaber combat, proving the clone’s strength as it matched that of the original. While the idea of Luke having an evil clone who was just as strong as him is an interesting direction for the character as it mirrors his recent struggle against his father as well as his internal conflict with Dark Side influence, there was just one problem that totally ruined the entire experience: the name of Luke Skywalker’s clone, was Luuke.
In Star Wars: Darth Vader #11 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Darth Vader is launching a full assault against the Emperor on Exegol. When he entered Palpatine’s lair, Darth Vader found himself in a giant chamber filled with man-sized vats containing what appeared to be failed and/or growing clones, some of whom cried out in sheer agony. Among them, Vader also noticed a clear container which held Luke’s severed hand, all while the Emperor ominously said that he uses pain as a means of creation, and he can use it to create, “anything”.
Star Wars fans know Palpatine is capable of creating Force-sensitive life which was made clear with Snoke in the sequel trilogy–so what is stopping him from creating a clone of Luke Skywalker from his severed hand? The exact same thing happened within Legends canon and this wouldn’t be the first time the main continuity borrowed certain aspects from Legends and made them work within the established universe. Plus, if Palpatine does (or did) create a Luke Skywalker clone, the series could make him more in-line with Snoke rather than having him be a carbon copy of Luke. One aspect of Snoke that was immediately obvious was his disfigurement as a result of his creation. If Luke’s clone suffered the same fate, cosmetically speaking, then he could be suited up with a classic Star Wars villain mask, making him even more reminiscent of Vader–and of what Luke could have become if he followed his father to the Dark Side.
Not only would an unrecognizable Luke clone look cool and fall in-line with Palpatine’s imperfect method of creating life, but it would allow another actor to fill the role of Luke’s clone if this character were adapted into the live action Star Wars canon–most notably in the era of The Mandalorian–rather than resorting to de-aging technology. Luke Skywalker’s potentially canonical clone has already been teased in the official comics, has been proven to be possible in Legends, and fits thematically within the current Star Wars era set by the most popular shows–the only thing that needs to change is the name, because if everyone is really honest with themselves, they will know that ‘Luuke’ is objectively terrible.
