So, Max Von Sydow gets about 5 minutes of screen time at the very beginning. But he seems to intimately know of Luke and (by proxy) happenings in the OT. Has there been any indication in the novels of who he is, and/or what significance he has to the new films? I get the sense that we'll see him again in flashbacks. Could he be the one who collects Luke's lightsaber?
One of many questions the movie fails to answer. Thinking about it now, I have to wonder if he was put on Jakku to keep an eye on Rey, kind of like what Obi-Wan was doing on Tattoine.
No hint at all. This guy came out of nowhere. Our only clues (from the new TFA Visual Dictionary) is that he's a member of 'The Church of the Force,' an underground religion of 'loosely affiliated followers of the Jedi ideals.' (Read: A Jedi fan club. Presumably Maz Kanata is also a member.) In an upcoming novel (set between ROTJ and TFA), we'll see him help Luke 'recover secret Jedi lore that the Empire tried to erase.' He is otherwise described at the official SW website as 'a legendary traveler and explorer.' Given his age, it's quite likely we'll 'meet' him properly in upcoming episodes of Rebels or the Rogue One film.
I thought I read somewhere over the summer that he was an ex Imperial officer, possibly even a Moff who became one of the good guys over the last few decades.
He obviously knew Ben in his younger days as well, from the "You got old" line and isn't his voice in the Rey flashback?
Good question, that has come up in every RL TFA discussion I've had. "Are we supposed to know who that guy was because it sure seemed like we were.." Was something cut out of the script at some point?
I don't know if it was cut Fruitcake, or like the rest of it will be revealed in VIII. I have been racking my brain for any character that was about 50 in RotJ, that might be him. No luck......maybe the novel will have more backstory.
I am really looking forward to reading the novel! I'm hoping it's full of interesting stuff that fills in a lot of it and not just a bland retelling of the script.
It seemed clear that Lor was part of Luke's Jedi Academy, since that would be the most likely way he'd know Kylo Ren. Lor didn't seem to be a Jedi but he could have been a historian or something like that.
In Rey's light saber trip, she sees herself left behind of Jakku, being held by someone saying "That's enough, girl!" in a voice that sounds quite a lot like Von Sydow's. So, perhaps the idea put forth up-thread that he was responsible to watch over her was on point, though it still doesn't say who he is. I think Episode VIII is going to be a "flashback" one. Lots of "Then" interspersed with "Now" footage. We'll see more exposition of Rey's history, as well as Han, Leia, and Ben/Kylo.