It’s a perfectly fair question, and one that’s been buzzing around fandom for the last couple of days. After his entrance into the Force at the tail end of The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker took with him something you might have imagined would be left behind, and the Radio Times delve into the story.
But what happens to his metal robot hand?
If only Luke’s organic body is transformed into Force energy, what of the rest of him? His cloak clearly doesn’t make the transition (and that is itself organic) so wouldn’t his hand be left behind too? And if so why was there no sign of it?
It’s a question one fan put to Hamill himself and Last Jedi director Rian Johnson on Twitter – and while Hamill made it clear he was as keen as anyone to know the answer, Johnson did have a response that suggests the hand probably was left behind but that making that clear would have spoilt what was otherwise a pretty solemn moment.
In the edit room someone joke suggested that when he fades away his robot hand should clank down onto the rock. Might have undercut the moment. ?
— Rian Johnson (@rianjohnson) January 19, 2018
Undercutting dramatic moments didn’t seem to be much of a concern throughout the rest of the movie, but good to see Hamill and Johnson treat this particular question with the good humour it deserves.
