The promise of Luke Skywalker being in the film is more than just the 32 year gap between ROTJ and TFA, it is the promise of the opening line of the crawl. Luke Skywalker is a through line in the film from the VERY start. It’s funny how people say TFA has a cliffhanger, which simply isn’t true. If we DIDN’T see Luke it would have been a cliffhanger. But seeing him is the resolution to the story outlined from the very start, very first line of the crawl. The fact that we know Kylo and the First Order are still out there and Rey has training to do is simply a sequel hook, NOT a cliffhanger.
Han’s capture is an element introduced in the second half of ESB and resolving it in that film would have felt out of place because it wasn’t an integral part of that film’s story from the start. The cliffhanger is justified because it is a plot thread that is introduced near the end of the film and, unlike a plot thread introduced at the very start, wouldn’t reasonably require a resolution at the end of the film.
The promise is that Luke has vanished, which is that you shouldn’t expect to see him anytime soon. The end of TFA is literally a cliffhanger, it is 100 percent true. Firstly, they are literally standing on a cliff. Second, they introduce a revelation (Luke and Rey meeting) in the final moment of the film and frame their reactions to each other in a suspenseful manner. That’s a cliffhanger.
5 minutes into ESB, Han says he must leave because Bounty Hunters are after him.
Again, I guess that comes from your perspective about who these films are about. If you look at them as 6 film overlaps with the PT and OT being about Anakin Skywalker and the OT and ST being about Luke Skywalker, then I see where you are coming from. If you look at the trilogies as being about each generation (PT-Anakin/Obi Wan, OT-Luke/Leia, ST-Rey/Kylo), then I lean more towards the film being about Rey (and Kylo).
Even if Rey vs. Kylo is the “end” of her story in TFA, that doesn’t mean it should be the last we see of her.
In ANH the “end” of Luke’s story is when he uses the Force to destroy the Death Star. But we still see him later at the end in new fangled clothes receiving a medal as an official member of the Rebellion.
Correct. He doesn’t go off and introduce himself to Yoda to begin his training or meet a new character to the film of great importance. They don’t show Vader returning to The Emperor and standing face to face with him. The parallel to the medal ceremony is The Falcon leaving the Resistance base with everyone looking on and waiving.