Skywalker: The Family Tree

Wired ^ | May 13, 2002 PDT | Brad King

[Texaggie79]

You've watched Star Wars, but you can't recall how Luke and Leia are related to Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun. Or even who in the hell Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun are.

You probably aren't alone. George Lucas has created a galaxy rich with characters whose relationships are interwoven through several generations. Following along can be difficult.

[Texaggie79]

ping

[ThinkingMan]

waiting-until-I-see-the-movie-before-I-read-any-spoilers BUMP!!!!

[Lil'freeper]

Now, in my youth I seem to remember reading in the 'first edition' of Star Wars which was published in the late 70s/early 80s that Owen Lars was Obi Wan's brother and had no real blood relation to Skywalker. Oh well. It's George's story. He can rewrite it as much as he wants. I will watch it anyway!

[realpatriot71]

That's it! The space in my brain that was reserved for the cure for cancer has now been taken over with the Jedi Family Tree. I hope you have the words to explain yourself to the world.

:-)

[reegs]

You are correct. In the novelization of "Return of the Jedi" the spirit of Kenobi explains to Luke how he was hidden from Vader and that Owen Lars was Ben's brother. And you are also right - it's George's story and he can do with it what he wants. I'm convinced he's making it up as he goes along.

[Digital Chaos]

Of course he's making it up as he goes along. All through the first trilogy, they keep talking about how Yoda trained Kenobi. As we can see in Phantom, that he did not do. They never mention Jinn, because Lucas is indeed making it up on the fly.

[reegs]

There is some wiggle room in there, though. I think Ben's words were, "the Jedi Master who instructed me." Instructed is a pretty broad term, so I give him the benefit of the doubt here. The worst bit of back tracking though, was when the spirit of Ben had to explain to Luke that when he told him Vader killed his father, that he really didn't kill him.

[sweetliberty]

So, has anyone seen it yet. I do not trust the critics. I'm fixin' to go see about tickets here in a few. I hope to get in this weekend.

[southern rock]

All through the first trilogy, they keep talking about how Yoda trained Kenobi. As we can see in Phantom, that he did not do.

That will probably be fixed. Lucas is continuing to twak the original trilogy as he writes the prequels to make sure everything adds up.

Of course, if one was to ever watch the entire six-episode saga in cronological order, you would soon realize that every single surprise and dramatic effect from episodes 4-6 are totally ruined. By hey, it's just a movie, right?

[Texaggie79]

Saw it last night. It is, at the very least, much better than Phantom Menace.