I haven't seen all the trailers yet but have seen plenty of still photos. I think its obvious that Han is sought after by the youngins or somehow comes to help them and at some point in the movie they go looking for a self exiled Luke. So I think this first film will bring up the new threat to the galaxy and the beginning of the fighting and then start the search for Luke because they will need him against the new sith threat as well as the newly improved Empire. The second film will see a fully integrated Luke back with the New Republic offering his help to train the young Jedi and also his lightsaber in the growing battle. So Luke is missing in the trailers because he is missing at the start story and we won't see him until much later in the movie. This theory I am sure is already out there but post your own or others.
I had posts this thought in another thread, but in the clip (I do not remember which Trailer) with the Darth Vader character coming down the ramp of the ship, the way the actor carries him(?)self, his gait and body English, sure do remind me of the way Luke walked. Maybe just in my mind, but it really stood out with me.
Ah...thanks, sojourner. My eyes were cheated by Age! It was cool to think about, but the other part of me was skeptical. Cannot wait to discover the Truth about Luke!
My theory is the movie will come to a bittersweet close with the Alliance/Republic/Resistance having won a battle but clearly losing the war. Rey and friends will find out where he has been hiding somewhere along the way and find him in the closing minutes where he will have a couple lines about how dangerous it is to train them and some kind of a callback to his masters in the OT like "We're not afraid!"/"You will be." before wiping to credits. I think he may also appear as a younger version of himself in flashbacks early on showing his attempts at an academy crumbling.
There was some baseless speculation that Kylo Ren was actually Luke. But we have seen Kylo Ren with his mask off, so that's out the window. Perhaps Luke will play a similar role in TFA that Ben Kenobi had in ANH... including a fateful duel with the villain. Kor
It's probably very simple: JJ Abrams loves him some mystery box shenanigans. I'm just amazed people keep getting sucked in by it, every single time.
A few years after RotJ Luke established a new Jedi Academy to begin reconstituting the Jedi ranks. Two of his first padawans were Han and Leia's twin children, a boy and a girl. In the wake of the collapse of the Empire into various factions ruled by different Moffs, the surviving dark side adepts, Sith acolytes, and Emperor's Hands were united into the Knights of Ren by the most powerful among them, a being named Snoke. They threw their lot in with the most powerful of the surviving Moffs and through their combined strength they were able to bring the other former Imperial factions into line, thus establishing the First Order out in the Unknown Regions as an opposition force to the fledgling New Republic. The New Republic was overwhelmed dealing with establishing itself and providing for a galaxy still recovering from the Galactic Civil War, so they unfortunately allowed the First Order to grow like a cancer under their own nose. Only a few of their leaders were prescient enough to recognize the danger if the First Order expanded in the Outer Rim. Princess (now General) Leia and Han Solo formed the Resistance, a new rebellion made up of the few New Republic volunteers not weary of war and citizens from the systems conquered or threatened by the First Order. Luke offered the assistance of some of his more experienced padawans. Realizing that they faced a new threat to their existence, Lord Snoke and General Hux decided to deal a devastating blow to the leaders of this new Resistance and their Jedi allies. They attacked the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV, killing many trainees and teachers and attempting to kidnap Leia and Han's children. Luke was able to protect the girl, Rey, but Snoke kidnapped the boy to train as his own apprentice, now renamed Kylo Ren. Devastated by his failure to prevent the destruction of the Academy and protect his apprentices and family, Luke went off into exile, seeking to commune with the Force and find a way to defeat this new threat of the Knights of Ren and clarify visions he's seen of a new superweapon that can destroy entire star systems. He's foreseen that his time will come to return either when his niece Rey seek him out in exile to train her once again, or his nephew Kylo shows up to destroy him. Luke hopes to turn Kylo back to the Light like he did his father. Han, angry and seeking vengeance, leaves in a New Republic Star Destroyer to search for his son. Leia, unable to leave her duties as leader of the Resistance and go on the search with Han, turns Rey over to a trusted confidant of hers living on the planet Jakku, knowing that she'll never be safe as long as the Knights of Ren know she's with Leia. She tells Rey not to develop her Force abilities for fear that it would attract too much attention. Kylo Ren, twisted to the dark side by Snoke, learns of his grandfather Darth Vader, and aspires to finish his task of destroying the Jedi, including his own uncle Luke.
It is kind of surprising that Disney is allowing something like to stay a secret. Having Luke Skywalker in the trailers must have made someone salivate uncontrollably while jizzing their pants, yet they're missing out just so Abrams could have his mystery box? Besides, the guy should know better after the STID fiasco.
I don't think that's a rumor but something that has been pretty much confirmed by now, or at least hinted at very strongly in interviews. The main mystery of the movie is basically "Where is Luke Skywalker and what happened to him?", so it makes sense that we won't see him until the very end. But I also get the impression that when we DO see him, he won't be in quite the right frame of mind and will be sort of the literal "crazy old hermit", which is not the kind of surprise you want to give away in a trailer, or something that would look very appealing in advertisements (at least judging by that crazy looking beard Hamill was sporting). And of course it could also be that he just has a very small role in the first movie, and they don't want to give people the impression he'll have a bigger presence in it than he actually does.
Because they want people to wonder why Luke isn't in the trailers. It builds mystery and intrigue, and puts butts in seats.
Somehow, I don't think this movie needs mystery or intrigue to put butts in seats. The prequels did just fine even when everyone was lambasting them as "pure crap."
Doesn't matter what other lame minutia of "intrigue" there might be e.g. surrounding new characters. LUKE is not in the trailers. LUKE is Star Wars. The first question on everyone's mind is therefore "WHERE IS LUKE???????????". It creates THE INTRIGUE, and THE INTRIGUE sells lots of tickets.
No, it's more than just STAR+WARS. This is different from "The Phantom Menace" and movies of its ilk. This is a follow-up to the classic SW: the continuing story of Han, Leia, Chewbacca, R2D2, C3P0 (seen in the trailers), and LUKE SKYWALKER (hero of the original trilogy, and conspicuously not seen in the trailers, but completely central to the story).
Nope, just my speculation; no actual spoilers or anything. Call it an educated guess based on rumors, concept art, behind the scenes info, toys, and trailers/TV spots. I haven't read any of the new novels yet. I've been meaning to but I have such a backlog of books to read I haven't gotten around to it yet.