Obi Wan Kenobi solo film

[Grind]

Here's the pure, straight truth. The real reason Obi Wan didn't change Luke's last name is "Ben Kenobi." Obi Wan couldn't successfully come up with a new identity for himself, let alone Luke LOL. Like the name Kenobi isn't on the Empire's most wanted list. Giving Luke the last name of Lars would make the most sense, but the name Luke Lars is bad enough to keep the Tuskins away.

[SuperiorIronman]

In the case of Skywalker;
1.Luke is the son of Anakin Skywalker but since few know Anakin is Darth Vader then most just assume Luke is an orphan and leave it at that. Anakin was presumed dead, Jedi are fugitives, and Luke is a moisture farmer with dreams of the Imperial academy, so passing Imperials might leave that alone.
2. Despite the academy (whether it was there or not) the Empire might have a relatively lax presence on Tatooine and thus Luke is easier to overlook.
3. Shimi Skywalker is known to have lived with the Lars family so Luke could've been named after her. Probably few if any beyond Owen and Beru knew Obi Wan dropped Luke off and they had been young enough at the time that it could belong to them. Naming conventions might be thrown out the window on this one which does happen in the real world.
4. Luke might have spent the majority of time away from most record keepers so his name is less of an issue. This makes sense since he was predominantly a farmer and a minor so his time away from the homestead could've been brief. With Ben Kenobi looking after him passing spies could be claimed to have been killed by the climate and lifeforms on Tatooine since it's pretty hostile even for the locals.
5. Darth Vader didn't go back until after the Death Star incident so it's not like he is looking for Luke since as far as he is aware, he is dead. Vader also needed proof he was lied to. Something that wasn't really available until Luke found out about Anakin.
6.Crime lords like Jabba don't want the Empire looking into them, and Jabba would have little use for a moisture farmer beyond what Luke was already doing. It's also to my knowledge unclear if Jabba even knew about Luke.
7. It had been 20 years since ROTS and there had been a clear change of command within the Empire who wouldn't immediately refer to Anakin. Not to mention that when Anakin did come back to Tatooine it was mostly low-key and Anakin was only around until about 9 or ten years initially. The guy was famous here but not enough to have the name give that much recognition.
8. Luke is so unlike his father at 19-20 it isn't even funny. He showed no proficiency with the force, Ben is largely unseen, he is a farmer, and Luke didn't really get into as much trouble as Anakin that few would pay him much attention.

This all of course changes in all likelihood after Luke had an active presence in the Rebellion but for the time Ben is an unknown and Luke happens to share a last name to those who don't know any better.

[thwhtGuardian]

In the case of Skywalker;
1.Luke is the son of Anakin Skywalker but since few know Anakin is Darth Vader then most just assume Luke is an orphan and leave it at that. Anakin was presumed dead, Jedi are fugitives, and Luke is a moisture farmer with dreams of the Imperial academy, so passing Imperials might leave that alone.
2. Despite the academy (whether it was there or not) the Empire might have a relatively lax presence on Tatooine and thus Luke is easier to overlook.
3. Shimi Skywalker is known to have lived with the Lars family so Luke could've been named after her. Probably few if any beyond Owen and Beru knew Obi Wan dropped Luke off and they had been young enough at the time that it could belong to them. Naming conventions might be thrown out the window on this one which does happen in the real world.
4. Luke might have spent the majority of time away from most record keepers so his name is less of an issue. This makes sense since he was predominantly a farmer and a minor so his time away from the homestead could've been brief. With Ben Kenobi looking after him passing spies could be claimed to have been killed by the climate and lifeforms on Tatooine since it's pretty hostile even for the locals.
5. Darth Vader didn't go back until after the Death Star incident so it's not like he is looking for Luke since as far as he is aware, he is dead. Vader also needed proof he was lied to. Something that wasn't really available until Luke found out about Anakin.
6.Crime lords like Jabba don't want the Empire looking into them, and Jabba would have little use for a moisture farmer beyond what Luke was already doing. It's also to my knowledge unclear if Jabba even knew about Luke.
7. It had been 20 years since ROTS and there had been a clear change of command within the Empire who wouldn't immediately refer to Anakin. Not to mention that when Anakin did come back to Tatooine it was mostly low-key and Anakin was only around until about 9 or ten years initially. The guy was famous here but not enough to have the name give that much recognition.
8. Luke is so unlike his father at 19-20 it isn't even funny. He showed no proficiency with the force, Ben is largely unseen, he is a farmer, and Luke didn't really get into as much trouble as Anakin that few would pay him much attention.

This all of course changes in all likelihood after Luke had an active presence in the Rebellion but for the time Ben is an unknown and Luke happens to share a last name to those who don't know any better.

Let's just call a shoe a shoe and agree that however well thought out those reasons you've written may be(and any others people might think of) at the end of the day they are just rationalizations for a hole in a film that was ostensibly a children's fantasy film that was never really meant to stand up to intense scrutiny.

It's not a very romantic reason for why Luke was allowed to keep his surname, but it's the only real, logical reason.

[Sacred Knight]

Why? That's what the movies present you. Star Wars paints you a picture of Obi-Wan, and that's of a once great man who's given up whatever life he once had before to watch over his old friends son. It kind of fucks up his whole ending in Star Wars if instead of dying on his first adventure in 18-20 years or however long it's been, if instead he was secretly up too all kinds of fun things we didn't see while going by Ben. It's the same kind of thing with Yoda.

The only thing it could potentially mess up would be the experience of the individual viewer, if one feels the same as you and prefer the assumption he stayed and never once left. Which is a fair preference to have, but its still based only on an assumption and not established fact within the narrative. No film ever outright states that Ben never once left, and the films clearly show Tatooine is a place with readily available transportation. So the door is quite open.

[Za Waldo]

Let's just call a shoe a shoe and agree that however well thought out those reasons you've written may be(and any others people might think of) at the end of the day they are just rationalizations for a hole in a film that was ostensibly a children's fantasy film that was never really meant to stand up to intense scrutiny.

It's not a very romantic reason for why Luke was allowed to keep his surname, but it's the only real, logical reason.

There isn't a hole in the film. There was never a problem with this stuff until the prequels came along.

[Sacred Knight]

I think there's an argument to be made it wasn't that big of a deal in ANH. Then his father was just a really good Jedi who didn't even have a name. Back then who knew if Skywalker actually wasn't an alias in its own right. And back then we didn't have much info on the legacy of the Jedi Knights at all to even get a good gauge on how much of a threat any untrained kin could be thus if the Empire would even worry too much about the son of one famous Knight still existing. After Empire however, it became a pretty big mahtzah ball. The Emperor confirms that Luke's father was indeed named Skywalker, then its revealed that Vader and Skywalker are one and the same. Right then it becomes an issue, and indeed something discussed amongst fandom well before the prequels. The prequels just exacerbated it to a whole new degree.

[WebLurker]

Here we go. Court is in session. Why is this the only thread on this site where you have to have a pile of reference material to back up an opinion? This is a fan site, it should be fun, not threatening.

When you got something with a lot of materials that answer nit-picky questions like this, as well as the creation process of the movies having practically become mythologized, with rumors, false stories, and conflicting statements from the Powers That Be, widely accepted as fact, it's a breeding ground for discussions to revolve around citing sources to prove or disprove opinions and statements.

If we were in a coffee shop talking face to face it wouldn't be like this.

I think a lot of forum sessions would be a lot different if we were talking face to face. (I remember somehow ticking off someone I was disagreeing online. I'm pretty sure that, in person, that would've been avoided, even through I think he was the one who crossed all the lines in that bit.)

For what it's worth, I think this thread has been pretty civil overall. I have seen (and been involved in) a lot worse.

[Za Waldo]

I think there's an argument to be made it wasn't that big of a deal in ANH. Then his father was just a really good Jedi who didn't even have a name. Back then who knew if Skywalker actually wasn't an alias in its own right. And back then we didn't have much info on the legacy of the Jedi Knights at all to even get a good gauge on how much of a threat any untrained kin could be thus if the Empire would even worry too much about the son of one famous Knight still existing. After Empire however, it became a pretty big mahtzah ball. The Emperor confirms that Luke's father was indeed named Skywalker, then its revealed that Vader and Skywalker are one and the same. Right then it becomes an issue, and indeed something discussed amongst fandom well before the prequels. The prequels just exacerbated it to a whole new degree.

It only becomes a problem 22 years after Star Wars when a new movie comes along and tells us that Tatooine is also where Vader is from. Before that he's just someone named Skywalker on some ramdom shitty distance planet. In Terminator a killer robot goes through a few people with the exact same name in LA before finding his target, now imagine only having a last name and a search area of the entire Star Wars galaxy.

[Carabas]

In the case of Skywalker;
1.Luke is the son of Anakin Skywalker but since few know Anakin is Darth Vader then most just assume Luke is an orphan and leave it at that. Anakin was presumed dead, Jedi are fugitives, and Luke is a moisture farmer with dreams of the Imperial academy, so passing Imperials might leave that alone.

Even if Luke is not the son of Darth Vader, he is still the son of one of the greatest Jedi that ever lived. And the Empire collects force-sensitives.

3. Shimi Skywalker is known to have lived with the Lars family so Luke could've been named after her. Probably few if any beyond Owen and Beru knew Obi Wan dropped Luke off and they had been young enough at the time that it could belong to them. Naming conventions might be thrown out the window on this one which does happen in the real world.

The Empire has several ways of knowing Shmi is Anakin's mother: ecords from the Jedi Temple, Vader's memories...

4. Luke might have spent the majority of time away from most record keepers so his name is less of an issue.

That's an unproven assumption.
Tatooine is in the Outer Rim, which was the region Tarkin was Grand Moff over before he went into solar system renovation.

5. Darth Vader didn't go back until after the Death Star incident so it's not like he is looking for Luke since as far as he is aware, he is dead. Vader also needed proof he was lied to. Something that wasn't really available until Luke found out about Anakin.

That's just called being very, very lucky.

6.Crime lords like Jabba don't want the Empire looking into them, and Jabba would have little use for a moisture farmer beyond what Luke was already doing. It's also to my knowledge unclear if Jabba even knew about Luke.

Jabba probably didn't know. But there is a better than decent chance that he would find out at some point.
But you're right that crimelords don't want the Empire looking into them, so if you're a crimelord and you find the son of a Jedi war hero living in your backyard, you want to inform the empire for possible bounties.
And what you really do not want is Vader finding out on his own and then stopping by to ask you why you didn't tell him about this. Andhe's not going to care if you knew or not.

[Carabas]

It only becomes a problem 22 years after Star Wars when a new movie comes along and tells us that Tatooine is also where Vader is from. Before that he's just someone named Skywalker on some ramdom shitty distance planet. In Terminator a killer robot goes through a few people with the exact same name in LA before finding his target, now imagine only having a last name and a search area of the entire Star Wars galaxy.

Oh, I recall having iterations of this discussion long before there ever was an Episode I, even before Return Of The Jedi came out.

[Sacred Knight]

It only becomes a problem 22 years after Star Wars when a new movie comes along and tells us that Tatooine is also where Vader is from. Before that he's just someone named Skywalker on some ramdom shitty distance planet. In Terminator a killer robot goes through a few people with the exact same name in LA before finding his target, now imagine only having a last name and a search area of the entire Star Wars galaxy.

I just know a ton of fans who've been around from the beginning would disagree. Because its been a point of discussion for that long. Not since just 1999. Personally, I was having discussions about this topic with fellow Star Wars fans as early as 1996 in the old tyme AOL chat rooms. If it doesn't bother you till the information TPM establishes, fair enough. But its been a big sticking point for plenty of other fans when the only source material was the OT.

[Grind]

It's a non problem. The Empire never found Luke. In 20 years only Maul found him and he was more after Obi Wan. If anyone else found him it still doesn't matter since it wasn't the Empire. Maybe the Force purposely did not guide Obi Wan to change his name just so Maul would find him?

[thwhtGuardian]

It only becomes a problem 22 years after Star Wars when a new movie comes along and tells us that Tatooine is also where Vader is from. Before that he's just someone named Skywalker on some ramdom shitty distance planet. In Terminator a killer robot goes through a few people with the exact same name in LA before finding his target, now imagine only having a last name and a search area of the entire Star Wars galaxy.

Not so, it becomes a "problem" as soon as one watches Empire for the first time as a teenager, which for me happened long before the prequels came out. In Star Wars we're told that Luke is staying with his Aunt and Uncle, and given no information that would contradict they are who they say we are so it's fair to assume that Luke's hitherto unknown father was also from Tatooine, then we're told that his father was a great Jedi by Obi-Wan, in Empire we're told all Jedi were hunted down by the Empire, that the Emperor knows Luke's name and that he's Force Sensitive and at the end that Vader is his father.

Taken all together an inquiring young mind might then jump to the conclusion that in much the same way that the Storm Troopers have become feared across the Galaxy even though their shots always seem to go wild around the heroes is a disconnect so too is the idea of the Empire as a far reaching, near- all powerful presence with it's tendrils in everything brought into question by the fact that there's a kid named Skywalker running around in Vader's home town for 20 years and no one had the slightest idea.

It seems like a big deal at the time...but then you grow up and realize you're not supposed to think too hard about why the Storm Troopers are said to be expert marksmen but can't hit the heroes, or why nobody went looking for Luke sooner, or why the Death Star has trenches big enough for starfighters to fly down them ect. but rather you're just supposed to sit back and enjoy the ride. They're not serious films that we're meant to endlessly analyze, but flights of fantasy that are just meant to take you out of your ordinary day for a little while.

But hey, if you do want to blame the prequels for this particular non-issue then you might as well also blame them for providing the closest thing to a believable rationalization there is: Vader didn't go looking for his children because he thought they were dead. It's still just a silly rationalization for something you're not supposed to think too hard about, but it does make a certain amount of sense.

[SuperiorIronman]

I think it really boils down to the series just being a bunch of fun adventures.
A good point is that in TCW we find out the Kaminoians are working for the sith. The problem being is that when you look back upon the series that if the clones are the A plan for the Sith Lord, why did Grevious and Ventress get the green light to attack Kamino? Why take the Fett genome when it is in your control already? Why destroy your A plan for exterminating the Jedi? This is predicated on Grevious and Ventress not knowing about this but why didn't Dooku or Sidious take notice or call it off?

The easiest answer is that in Star Wars a broad answer is fine because sometimes it really is just difficult to reconcile that information with what you want to do. It's probably for the best we don't think hard about Kenobi or Skywalker and just go with it since if it can't be contradicted now, it will be later.

[Za Waldo]

Not so, it becomes a "problem" as soon as one watches Empire for the first time as a teenager, which for me happened long before the prequels came out. In Star Wars we're told that Luke is staying with his Aunt and Uncle, and given no information that would contradict they are who they say we are so it's fair to assume that Luke's hitherto unknown father was also from Tatooine, then we're told that his father was a great Jedi by Obi-Wan, in Empire we're told all Jedi were hunted down by the Empire, that the Emperor knows Luke's name and that he's Force Sensitive and at the end that Vader is his father.

Taken all together an inquiring young mind might then jump to the conclusion that in much the same way that the Storm Troopers have become feared across the Galaxy even though their shots always seem to go wild around the heroes is a disconnect so too is the idea of the Empire as a far reaching, near- all powerful presence with it's tendrils in everything brought into question by the fact that there's a kid named Skywalker running around in Vader's home town for 20 years and no one had the slightest idea.

It seems like a big deal at the time...but then you grow up and realize you're not supposed to think too hard about why the Storm Troopers are said to be expert marksmen but can't hit the heroes, or why nobody went looking for Luke sooner, or why the Death Star has trenches big enough for starfighters to fly down them ect. but rather you're just supposed to sit back and enjoy the ride. They're not serious films that we're meant to endlessly analyze, but flights of fantasy that are just meant to take you out of your ordinary day for a little while.

But hey, if you do want to blame the prequels for this particular non-issue then you might as well also blame them for providing the closest thing to a believable rationalization there is: Vader didn't go looking for his children because he thought they were dead. It's still just a silly rationalization for something you're not supposed to think too hard about, but it does make a certain amount of sense.

There was no problem until the prequels. You've no reason, none at all, to think people in hiding, who we're told are in a remote part of the galaxy, are actually from Tatooine. If you came to that weird conclusion that Luke's unknown father was from Tatooine as a teenager because relatives also lived on Tatooine...well, I'm not really sure what to say. I guess congratulations, you formed an idea as bad as '90s George Lucas, and as only a teen no less. Were you aware of the concept of moving in your teens? Do you happen to live in close vicinity to all your family that's never moved of something? This is just such a weird idea, and I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. So, as a TEENAGER, you formulated the idea that because Luke lives with relatives (while in hiding) on Tatooine, (a place that is sold to you the viewer more than once as being on the outskirts of civilization) ergo this is were Vader is from? I guess because clearly people in hiding would continue on living were they had been before?

The problem only comes along onces the prequels do, and we're told Tatooine is where Vader is from, and that the Aunt and Uncle are from there too. Before the prequels you have no reason to think they're all from Tatooine, and every reason to think they've only moved there so they can't be found. Luke Skywalker still having the last name Skywalker isn't even kind of a problem. Open a phone book and look at how many totally unrelated people all share the same last name within a tiny area, or the same exact name. Skywalker might be a weird last name in the real world, but you've no reason to think it's anything but common in Star Wars. What if there's like a trillion people running around the whole galaxy the same age with the same last name?