Summary
AlthoughLuke Skywalkeris one ofStar Wars’most powerful Jedi,he never used these 10 canon Force powers in any of hisStar Warsmovie appearances. When Luke debuted inA New Hope, the Force was a brand-new concept and wasn’t nearly as clearly defined as it is now. However,Star Warsmovies and TV showshave increasingly provided insight into how the Force works, who can access it, and what powers it offers.
Star Wars’canon Force abilitieshave expanded significantly sinceA New Hope, and thrilling updates such asthe Force DyadinStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerprove thatStar Warswill continue to explore the limits of the Force. Despite those updates, Luke Skywalker’s use of the Force has been somewhat limited on screen, as many new powers were established after the original trilogy, and Luke wasn’t as involved in the sequel trilogy as many expected him to be. Indeed,Luke Skywalker has yet to use these 10 canon Force abilities on screen, although other Jedi have used them.
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Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Although the sequel trilogy had mixed reviews (to say the least), in large part because of Luke Skywalker’s character development, audiences generally liked Kylo Ren. In fact, Kylo Ren’s first scene in his debut movie,Star Wars: The Force Awakens, revealed how incredibly powerful the character would be. In the scene, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron shot a blaster bolt, butKylo Ren managed to use the Force to freeze the bolt, a power called Force Stasis.
Despite how impressive this move was, Luke Skywalker never used it in any of his Skywalker Saga appearances. This is surprising, as Luke engaged in many battles and would have had ample opportunity to exercise this ability. However, Luke had been trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi himself in the art of blocking blaster bolts with his lightsaber, so perhaps that was simply his preferred method.
9Star Wars Never Showed Luke Using Force Barrier
Force Barrier Was Shown In Star Wars: The Clone Wars
One of the handier Force abilities,Force Barrier allows the user to build an invisible Force shield around themselves and others, as seen during the Zillo Beast arc duringStar Wars: The Clone Wars. However,The Mandalorianhas shown this power even more recently, with Grogu using the Force to create a barrier around Bo-Katan Kryze and Din Djarin to protect them from fire. Although the Jedi were originally meant to be peacekeepers, their role has required much more combat throughout the Skywalker Saga, making Force Barrier a rather useful skill.
Despite Luke’s role in many conflicts, however, he was never shown using Force Barrier on screen. Arguably, this would have been most helpful while fighting the Empire, particularly when they were under fire from the stormtroopers. However, it’s quite possible Luke hadn’t learned this skill yet, which could explain why he didn’t use it in the original trilogy.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Strangely,Luke Skywalker also never had a true Force vision of the future on screen inStar Wars, although visions are a relatively prevalent Force ability, especially in the movies. Luke’s own father, Anakin, suffered from nightmares that were really Force visions throughout the prequel era,Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sithin particular. After all, this is precisely what led Anakin to the dark side, as he was desperate to prevent his visions of Padmé dying in childbirth from happening.
This is precisely what led Anakin to the dark side, as he was desperate to prevent his visions of Padmé dying in childbirth from happening.
Ironically, Anakin’s efforts to prevent the future he saw caused the very thing he was worried about, which perhaps means it’s best Luke never used this power. As Master Yoda made clear inRevenge of the Sith,visions of the future can be incredibly dangerous because they can trigger fear. Indeed, even moments that weren’t quite visions of the future caused Luke to struggle, such as when he saw his face in the Vader helmet duringThe Empire Strikes Backor when he looked into Ben Solo’s mind and found evil thoughts before Ben became Kylo Ren.
7We Never Saw Luke Use Force Heal
Force Heal Was Prominent In Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Force Heal is one of the single most incredible Force abilities to be depicted inStar Wars. Rey was shown using this power multiple times inThe Rise of Skywalker, first to heal an injured creature and then to heal Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, whom she had stabbed with his own lightsaber. However, in each of these cases, Rey was healing an injury. Ben Solo took this much further at the end ofThe Rise of Skywalkerby using the last of his energy to bring Rey back to life via Force Heal, killing himself in the process.
Force Heal is one of the single most incredible Force abilities to be depicted inStar Wars.
This power is certainly a difficult one, but Luke Skywalker is no doubt powerful and skilled enough to effectively wield it. However,Luke never used Force Heal on screen in theStar Warsmovies. This is a bit of a shame, as it reinforces the issues with Luke Skywalker’s character development in the sequels. Luke was a brand-new Jedi in the original trilogy, so the sequels should have offered him the chance to demonstrate his full power as a Jedi Master. Letting Luke be the first to use Force Heal would have been a great way to do this.
Interestingly, Grogu also used Force Heal inThe Mandalorian, and he was technically the first character to do it.
Rey Skywalker
Psychometry is one of the more intriguing and complex Force abilities inStar Wars.Psychometry allows a Force-user to hear and/or see an object’s past by touching it. Multiple Jedi have demonstrated this power, from Quinlan Vos inThe Clone Warsto Ahsoka Tano inAhsoka. However, Rey may have also used this power unwittingly inThe Force Awakenswhen she touched Anakin Skywalker’s old lightsaber and was sent back in time to various moments in the past. However, this could very well have been a different skill entirely, as the moments didn’t all seem linked to the lightsaber.
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However, Luke never demonstrated this ability in any of his movie appearances. Perhaps Luke never had access to this power. Psychometry was distinct from many other Force powers in that it wasn’t exactly easy to learn. Rather, many Jedi were simply born with the gift. It’s possible that, even had Luke wanted to use the power, he might not have been able to.
Ezra Bridger
Many Jedi have displayed a special connection with animals and with nature, although perhaps no Jedi has demonstrated this Force ability more than Ezra Bridger inStar Wars Rebels. ThroughoutRebels, Ezra had an incredible connection to creatures ranging from Loth-wolves to Purrgil. In fact,his trust in and bond with the Purrgil is what ultimately allowed Ezra to save the galaxy from Thrawn.
Interestingly, Luke never displayed this Force ability. Although he was adept as a keeper of the peace—proving that Luke Skywalker is one of the Jedi who remained truest to the Jedi way—he didn’t seem to have any exceptional ability with nature or animals. In part, this may be because of the different role he played. Unlike Ezra, who has spent significant time on his own, Luke was almost always on the front lines of battle before trying to build his own Jedi Temple. Arguably, this skill set just wasn’t something he would have needed to develop.
Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious
Force concealment is an incredibly useful Force ability, as Palpatine made clear throughout the prequel trilogy. While many have criticized the Jedi Order in the prequels for not recognizing that Palpatine was a Sith or using the dark side of the Force, the truth was, Palpatine was using Force concealment to prevent himself from being detected. Essentially, this power allows the user to shroud themselves in the Force so that others cannot detect their presence in the Force or their power.
Luke never used this power, but that could indicate that Force concealment isn’t a light side Force ability. This would make sense, given Palpatine’s use of it in the prequels. While, arguably, it could be a Force ability that is neither exclusively light nor exclusively dark, it seems likely that this power of deception would not be something the Jedi or the light side of the Force would support.
3Luke Never Displayed Exceptional Technical Aptitude
Technical Awareness Was Yet Another Force Power Anakin Skywalker Mastered
When Anakin was discovered on Tatooine inStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn immediately realized that he was special and clearly strong with the Force. Although Qui-Gon highlighted Anakin’s increased level of awareness, Anakin’s clear tech-savviness was also an indication of his connection with the Force. Not only had Anakin built C-3PO himself, but he had also constructed his own podracer and was frequently used by Watto because of his technical abilities.
However, Anakin seemingly didn’t pass this Force ability down to his son, as Luke didn’t reveal any unique technical skill, at least not to the same degree. While Luke was an excellent pilot, that seemed to have more to do with Jedi intuition and instinct than it did an understanding of technology. However, few Jedi indicated an aptitude as high as Anakin’s, so this isn’t all that surprising.
2The Movies Never Showed Luke Using Teleportation
Luke Used Astral Projection But Not Teleportation
One of Luke Skywalker’s most impressive Force feats came inStar Wars:The Last Jediwhen Luke used Astral Projectionto trick Kylo Ren into thinking he was really there fighting in front of him. In actuality, Luke was still back on Ahch-To; he was merely creating a distraction so that the Resistance could escape. However, while Astral Projection is an incredible feat, Luke’s use of it makes it a bit odd that he never used the Force power of teleportation.
It’s difficult to say for certain which would be more difficult, as both seem extremely taxing, but, given that Luke died as a result of this Astral Projection, it’s likely teleportation is not as difficult or dangerous. In light of that, it’s strange that Luke was never shown using teleportation in any of his movie appearances. So far, though, teleportation as a Force power has been minimally explored inStar Wars.
Yoda
Luke was sadly subjected to Emperor Palpatine’s Force lightning, as manyStar Warscharacters were. However, unlike some more experienced Jedi, such as Master Yoda and Mace Windu, Luke was unable to deflect or (more impressively) absorb the lightning. Instead, only his father turning on Emperor Palpatine and killing him saved Luke’s life.
It’s unclear whether Luke ever learned either of these Force abilities, although, perhaps his experience with Palpatine made him more interested in doing so. Either way, Luke never revealed a newfound ability to deflect or absorb Force lightning in any of his subsequent movie appearances. While theStar Warsmovies do not containLuke Skywalker’sentire story, it is nevertheless surprising that the iconic Jedi never used these 10 canon Force abilities on screen.
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