With A New Hope being the first theatrical Star Wars movie, George Lucas has since made many retcons to the film, meaning Luke Skywalker’s closest circle lies to him at several points throughout the story. When watching the Star Wars movies in chronological order, A New Hope is the fifth in the timeline, four when not counting Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. However, it is no secret that George Lucas did not have the entirety of the now-expansive franchise planned out when A New Hope was released as simply Star Wars in 1977.
While the upcoming Star Wars movies will continue to expand the franchise under Disney, it is an interesting experience to look back upon the original trilogy with the added context the prequels – and sequels – provide. While Star Wars has always flourished in retcons, retrospective changes, and interesting additions thanks to various movies and Star Wars TV shows, there is no denying that some elements of the original trilogy remain contradictory when viewed in the context of the entire saga. One such element is Luke Skywalker’s early life, as the farmhand is told a handful of lies at Star Wars’ onset.
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7 Owen Tells Luke He Doesn’t Know If Obi-Wan Kenobi Exists Anymore
Future Star Wars stories, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, make it clear that Owen lies about the Jedi.
One of the first lies Luke Skywalker is told in A New Hope‘s opening, where most mistruths are commonly found, comes from Uncle Owen. Luke questions his aunt and uncle about the astromech droid they recently bought. The droid, who has since become known as the lovably loyal R2-D2, says he belongs to someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi. After a glance between Beru and Owen, the latter states that Luke should get the droid’s memory wiped, prompting Luke to question what happens if Obi-Wan comes looking for him.
Owen then replies to Luke stating “He won’t. I don’t think he exists anymore.” As is known from the wider Star Wars franchise, this is a blatant lie by Owen. Owen is aware that Old Ben is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and is simply lying to Luke so that the latter does not seek out the former and learn about his heritage. This is quickly followed by another, much more blatant, lie.
6 Owen Tells Luke Obi-Wan Died At The Same Time As Anakin
Owen continues to lie about Obi-Wan Kenobi to protect Luke.
After telling Luke that Obi-Wan does not exist anymore, Owen gives his reasoning why. Luke’s uncle says “He died about the same time as your father.” Again, Owen is more aware than anyone that Ben is Obi-Wan Kenobi and that the former Jedi has been living on Tatooine for decades. The events of 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi make it abundantly clear that Owen and Kenobi spoke intermittently before A New Hope. However, Owen naturally wants nothing to do with Obi-Wan and wishes to protect Luke, explaining why he lied to his nephew about Kenobi being dead.
5 Kenobi States He Doesn’t Remember Owning A Droid
Obi-Wan not remembering R2-D2 is nothing short of a travesty!
While Uncle Owen tells several lies about Obi-Wan Kenobi, the former Jedi himself is not opposed to avoiding the truth when he is introduced to Luke. The most immediate lie Kenobi tells Luke is when he states he does not remember owning a droid after R2 claims Obi-Wan is his owner. Given what is known of the Star Wars prequels, this is an obvious lie. While many have attempted to explain this by claiming Obi-Wan’s time on Tatooine has left his mind addled, it is clear that he remembers many other elements about his past in the film.
In reality, it is simply the case that Lucas did not have the minute details of the Star Wars prequels planned out when making A New Hope. Lucas likely had broad story beats in mind, but R2-D2 being a common companion of Obi-Wan Kenobi during the prequel trilogy was likely not something the auteur had in mind when writing the original film’s script. Therefore, Kenobi saying he does not remember R2 comes across as an admittedly strange lie.
4 Obi-Wan Implies Anakin Lived On Tatooine
Anakin’s history was heavily reshaped by the Star Wars prequels.
Another element of A New Hope that has been positioned as a lie thanks to other Star Wars movies is Obi-Wan’s implication that Anakin lived on Tatooine. Luke claims that his father was not a warrior and was instead a navigator on a spice freighter. Obi-Wan Kenobi replies “That’s what your uncle told you. He didn’t hold with your father’s ideals. Thought he should’ve stayed here and not gotten involved.” This implies that Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Owen were somewhat close in the past and that the trio had disagreements about the Clone Wars.
However, as is known from the Star Wars prequels, Anakin – much less Obi-Wan – barely spent any time on Tatooine with Owen. Obi-Wan’s words in A New Hope make it seem as though Anakin lived on Tatooine and left Owen behind to fight in the war, something that is very obviously not true. Anakin lived on Coruscant from the age of nine and was raised as a Jedi, only meeting Owen once for a brief moment in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
3 Obi-Wan Tells Luke That Anakin Wanted Him To Have His Lightsaber
Anakin’s lightsaber was never intended to be passed through generations.
Later in the scene in Obi-Wan’s hut in A New Hope, more mistruths are told. Obi-Wan brings out Anakin’s lightsaber and tells Luke that his father wanted him to have it when he was old enough. This is, again, a statement that seemingly comes from nothing. Anakin passing down his lightsaber to his children is never mentioned in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. If Obi-Wan had not scooped up Anakin’s saber after defeating him on Mustafar, Anakin likely would have continued to use it as Darth Vader, and it never would have been handed to Luke.
2 Obi-Wan States That Darth Vader Was A Jedi
What he said was true, from a certain point of view…
While not as overt a lie as the others found in the film, Obi-Wan’s words about Darth Vader are not exactly truthful. Obi-Wan states that a “young Jedi named Darth Vader… helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights.” This implies that Darth Vader was the actual name of Obi-Wan’s apprentice, as Lucas clearly had not developed the Sith religion and the precursor of “Darth” for dark side acolytes at the time of writing.
1 Obi-Wan Says Darth Vader Killed Luke’s Father
The biggest Star Wars lie resulted in an attempted retcon from Lucas.
Perhaps the most egregious lie in A New Hope, so much so that it has even been retconned by Lucas in later films, is that Darth Vader killed Luke’s father. Obi-Wan mentions Anakin at length to Luke in the first theatrical Star Wars film, prompting Luke to probe the old hermit for more information. Kenobi tells Luke elements of Anakin’s life that are true, such as that he was a great pilot and a cunning warrior. After mentioning that Anakin fought alongside Obi-Wan in the Clone Wars, Luke finally asks what happened to his father.
After telling Luke about Darth Vader’s betrayal, Obi-Wan states that the dark sider “betrayed and murdered your father.” Again, the prequels make it evident that this is not true. While Lucas attempted to retcon the lie in Return of the Jedi by having Obi-Wan say that what he told Luke was true from a certain point of view, it is still inherently a lie that Vader and Anakin were two different people.
Since the release of the film in 1977, Star Wars’ concept of the dark side has made it so that this is almost true. Lucas’ later idea for the dark side is that the Sith version of characters are inherently different from their Jedi counterparts as exemplified by the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s finale concerning Anakin. However, at the time of A New Hope‘s release, Lucas did not have any of that planned, proving the line to be one of many lies told to young Luke Skywalker.
