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The problem of Owen Lars

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“Uncle Owen”, we learn in Star Wars, is Luke’s uncle. From all indications given in the movie, he was Anakin Skywalker’s brother, who disapproved of him joining the Jedi Order.

The PT clumsily explained his relationship to Anakin by giving them a weird half-brother relationship. His father was Cleigg Lars. I always thought his name was made to be “Owen Lars” in the prequels. However, if you read the original drafts of Star Wars ( http://www.starwarz.com/starkiller/the-star-wars-from-the-adventures-of-luke-starkiller-third-draft/ ), his name is still “Owen Lars”.

So this is the question: From an OT-only perspective I always thought Owen was meant to be Anakin’s brother. But, based on his not-skywalker last name, was this not what George Lucas had in mind?

TL;DR: In the OT, why did George Lucas make Uncle Owen’s last name “lars”, and not Skywalker, when it seemed apparent that he and Anakin were brothers?

Do they not see the birds controlled in the atmosphere of the sky? none holds them up except Allah. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe. – Quran (16:79)

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I don’t know what was going on in George’s head, but I can make something up real quick.

WARNING: COMPLICATED AND STUPID MENTAL GYMNASTICS AHEAD

(ignoring the PT entirely)

  1. Anakin’s last name was originally Lars, but being “the best star pilot in the galaxy,” he earned the nickname/title Skywalker.

  2. Luke, not appreciating his nickname of Wormie, took the nickname he heard associated with his father because it’s much cooler.

.

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Making Owen Anakin’s brother in law and Beru Luke’s maternal Aunt would have been a heck of a lot easier.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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There are plenty of ways it could have worked. Despite some people’s need to hate anything that transpired in the PT, I think making Owen Anakin’s step-brother was a perfectly fine solution (that doesn’t mean it was handled well, but it is possible to separate the idea from the execution).

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I always thought he was Uncle Owen in the same way a close friends kids could call you aunt or uncle.

It seems like people are really embracing the new characters. In fact, the big question people ask me now about Star Wars is, “Are Finn and Poe gay lovers?” And really how the f*ck would I know? My second husband left me for a man, so my gaydar isn’t exactly what you’d call Death Star level quality. ----Carrie Fisher

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 (Edited)

lovelikewinter said:

I always thought he was Uncle Owen in the same way a close friends kids could call you aunt or uncle.

THIS.

Anakin and Owen could have been simply friends living on Tatooine.

Rogue One is redundant. Just play the first mission of DARK FORCES.
The hallmark of a corrupt leader: Being surrounded by yes men.
‘The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly.’ - V.E.S.
‘Star Wars is a buffet, enjoy the stuff you want, and leave the rest.’ - SilverWook

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I assumed he had to “say uncle” when he was in a headlock once and the name stuck.

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Haarspalter said:

lovelikewinter said:

I always thought he was Uncle Owen in the same way a close friends kids could call you aunt or uncle.

THIS.

Anakin and Owen could have been simply friends living on Tatooine.

I kinda always felt this way too.

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Haarspalter said:

lovelikewinter said:

I always thought he was Uncle Owen in the same way a close friends kids could call you aunt or uncle.

THIS.

Anakin and Owen could have been simply friends living on Tatooine.

…AND…THIS AGAIN!

I actually agree though.

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TV’s Frink said:

I assumed he had to “say uncle” when he was in a headlock once and the name stuck.

I kinda always felt this way too.

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The novelization of Jedi said that Owen Lars was Obi-Wan’s brother.

The Person in Question

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The Problem of Owen Lars would be a great book title.

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rodneyfaile said:

The Problem of Owen Lars would be a great book title.

Or … screw that rumored Obi-Wan Spin-Off … and make this instead:

The Problem of Owen Lars: A Star Wars Story 😉

Rogue One is redundant. Just play the first mission of DARK FORCES.
The hallmark of a corrupt leader: Being surrounded by yes men.
‘The best visual effects in the world will not compensate for a story told badly.’ - V.E.S.
‘Star Wars is a buffet, enjoy the stuff you want, and leave the rest.’ - SilverWook

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 (Edited)

Haarspalter said:

rodneyfaile said:

The Problem of Owen Lars would be a great book title.

Or … screw that rumored Obi-Wan Spin-Off … and make this instead:

The Problem of Owen Lars: A Star Wars Story 😉

I’ve suggested an Owen centric film at least twice before:
http://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/666703
http://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/878108

(of course inspired by this classic: http://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Who-could-Uncle-Owen-hand-a-serious-bare-knuckle-beating-to/id/10996)

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Give the guy a break, he aged at least four decades on only 19 years.

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Boy, a lot of people here have simple family relationships. Siblings do not have to have the same last name. Names can change between birth and later life. Lots of people and cultures use the terms Uncle and Aunt quite liberally without the need for a genetic relationship.

The question of Beru and Owen’s last name was set back in 1977. It has been Lars since the beginning. So the question of Lars vs. Skywalker has always been there. Luke calls them aunt and uncle. That is meaningless. That is what he calls them. Giving Anakin a step-brother in the prequels just answered that longstanding question of how is Owen his uncle. There were many theories floating around before AOTC answered the question. The extent of all we got in the OT was some vague hint that Owen was upset that Anakin went off following Kenobi.

Just a few items that I have in my own family history. A couple adopt a baby. It is actually her nephew, but they give the child their name and raise him as their own. He knows his full siblings, but thinks they are cousins and doesn’t find out until he is in his 80’s that they are his siblings. A man has 5 daughters, his wife dies shortly after and the youngest daughter is taken by the wife’s family and raise in another state. He remarries and about a decade later his daughter marries his 2nd wife’s next to youngest brother. That creates some interesting relationships, and the step mother shuns the being called grandmother and instead is called aunt. Another, a man accuses his wife of having an affair because she hid her second pregnancy and subsequently divorces her. She changes both her children’s names. As an adult, her son marries a businessman’s daughter and his father-in-law takes him under his wing and endows him with a title that can be used as a name. Consequently his daughter has a different name on her birth certificate and her driver’s license. Trying to figure out genetics or family relationships from names is often hopeless.

I the old days before the PT, we knew nothing of Luke’s mother. Before ROTJ, we didn’t even know he had a sister who had vague memories of their mother (which only makes sense after the PT if Leia is considerably stronger in the force in the non-Jedi areas than Luke). Before that, we don’t know if Owen or Beru are related to Luke’s father or mother. But the mother must not have been from Tatooine if Leia ended up the adopted daughter of Bail Organa and with the title of Princess. So that kind of cut off any relation through their mother to either Owen or Beru. And Lucas never answered that until he scripted AOTC. Whether he had decided that before that is open to debate. The link to Kenobi was always rumored, but that doesn’t help figuring out the family relationships with Luke.

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thelonius said:

Give the guy a break, he aged at least four decades on only 19 years.

When you look at the ages of the actors who played him and consider that people’s skin age faster under harsh sun, the discrepancy shrinks. If you make the Clone Wars longer (three years is too short for such an epic, galaxy spanning, Republic destroying conflict) Owen and Beru’s ages make more sense in the PT and their apparent age in Ep 4 no longer is off at all.