Is Luke Skywalker a Gray Jedi In Star Wars Episode VIII?

the new trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi has finally landed, giving us a look at the highly anticipated new entry in the franchise that everyone loves. With Episode VII ending on a cliffhanger, we finally see the stunning dark middle chapter in the franchise. Not only do wee see a returning cast of characters that stars a haggard Luke Skywalker, but Rey, Finn, Poe and BB8 and Kylo Ren all return. If you’ve somehow been living under a rock this easter weekend, and have not seen the trailer yet- you’ll find it below.

Well, where to start. A good place would be the now iconic line from Luke Skywalker: “I only know one truth. It’s time for the Jedi to end.” After this, we see Luke kneeling among the ashes of what seems to be the old Jedi Academy, where Kylo Ren followed in the footsteps of Darth Vader and destroyed the academy. Going back to the root of the issue- We see Luke dressed in a garb that seems to be a mix between the normal Jedi outfit and also a Sith Outfit. This begs the question, with Luke’s unconventional training, is he even a ‘normal’ Jedi in the 30 years after Return of the Jedi? His training with Yoda started later than usual, in addition to understanding and the temptation behind the Dark Side of the force… could it be that Luke is neither Jedi or Sith, instead of falling in between the two disciplines?

There seems to be evidence building for this, could it be that Luke’s Jedi training would be training them in both ways of the force. Remember, Luke was said to bring balance to the Force. We later see Rey dusting off a book adorned with the emblem of the Jedi Order, which has long since become absent. Luke may have been looking to restore and reform the Jedi Order, but maybe in a radically different way.

The concept of a Gray Jedi currently exists in the form of a character in Star Wars: Rebels, who uses both factors of the Light and Dark sides of the force. If you bear with us here, we have an interesting theory that Luke himself might have been training a new Jedi order, formed around a balance of the force, using both light and dark powers to form a new status quo for the Jedi. This would also confirm Kylo Ren’s descent into the Dark Side of the force. Mastering the powers on the Dark Side of the force means not succumbing to the temptation of absolute power. After he met with Snoke, Kylo would have then gathered the knights of Ren and taken down the academy.

An insight into Luke’s viewpoint on this would go back to his words: “It’s time for the Jedi to end” – This would mean that Luke would be referring to the old Jedi order and republic as we knew it, and then building upon it by revolutionising the way that people look at the force, particularly after seeing good in Darth Vader, who ultimately saved his life at the end of Return of the Jedi.

It remains to be seen whether or not our theory about Luke being a Gray Jedi being true, however, the seeds have been sown for something slightly different in the galaxy- and we absolutely cannot wait.