Joseph Campbell was an American writer and lecturer best known for his work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This book is considered a work of comparative mythology, and in it, Joseph Campbell discusses the journey of the archetypal hero. Since the book’s publication in 1949, many writers and artists have applied Campbell’s theory to their own stories. Star Wars: A New Hope, a film based on the novel The Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas and published by Ballantine Books in 1976, tells the story of a young farm boy living on the desolate planet of Tatooine who goes onto become a Jedi master and battles the forces of darkness against his estranged father, Darth Vader.

             This work follows the classical stages of Campbell’s hero’s journey. Luke is pulled from obscurity into his destiny as a Jedi through a chain of events set off by the appearance of two droids in his hometown in search of the Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke and Obi-Wan are then brought together in an attempt to save Princess Leia of Alderaan. Luke gains knowledge of the Force, recruits new companions, the anti-heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca, who are intergalactic smugglers, and crosses the galaxy to save the princess.

The hero’s journey begins with the Call to Adventure. As the Star Wars: A New Hope story begins, a battle in space rages beyond the Outer Rim of the galaxy with the powers of darkness, the Galactic Empire, pursuing the forces of good, the Rebel Alliance. Princess Leia sends a plea for help to the planet below, Luke answers the call. Fate, in the form of traders at a remote outpost, brings her message to the farmboy. Luke’s call to adventure comes when he finds a message stored in R2-D2. After Leia famously says, “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,” we realized that the war above him between the Light and Dark Side have found their way into Luke’s ordinary world. Luke may not realize it then, but his life has been changed forever.

The next stage is Refusal of the Call. Luke starts out refusing the call to adventure when R2-D2 runs off. He wants to get the droid back because he does not want to be in trouble with his uncle. After finding Obi-Wan, Luke still refuses the call to join as he has work to do on Tatooine. Luke doubts his ability to help, saying, “It’s all such a long way from here.” At the end of this stage, Luke returns home to discover his Uncle and Aunt murdered by the Empire and their moisture farm in flames.

Meeting The Mentor. Luke meets Obi-Wan after a run-in with the Sand People chasing R2-D2 into the desert. Obi-Wan explains about the Jedi, the Force, and Luke’s father, but when the wise man offers to teach Luke the ways of the Jedi, Luke turns him down. After he finds his home ruined, Luke returns to Obi-Wan and accepts him as a mentor who will guide him to the next stage of his journey.

“There’s nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.” – Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: A New Hope.

The fifth stage is Crossing the Threshold. Luke leaves home and physically crosses the threshold to Mos Eisley spaceport. When he arrives at the spaceport, he is a stranger in a strange land. At the local cantina, he is confronted with the local denizens, which further confirmed he has no idea how to deal with this new world. Luke’s commitment to the journey and Obi-Wan’s guidance see him through.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies. Luke gathers more allies than enemies to his cause at the Cantina, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. When Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, and Chewy prepare to leave Tatooine, tests will attempt to stop them in the form of Stormtroopers. With the help of his new allies, Luke succeeds in escaping the planet with the droids. He is now on his way to Alderaan.

Approach to The Inmost Cave is the seventh stage. On the way to Alderaan in Han Solo’s freighter, the Millennium Falcon, Luke makes preparations for the difficulties that lie ahead as Obi-Wan begins to teach him about the Force and how to wield a lightsaber. However, they do not make it to Alderaan. They discover that the planet has been destroyed and replaced with the Inmost Cave, a place of danger and conflict, represented by the Death Star. Fear and doubt return to Luke in the face of an overwhelming obstacle. In his own words, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

The Ordeal. The ordeal is a test the hero must overcome, usually by pulling out his skills to defeat an enemy. The rescue of Princess Leia represents this. Luke begins the ordeal of rescuing Princess Leia with the help of his comrades. Their minor success is short-lived when Luke witnesses Obi-Wan’s death during a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader.

Reward or Seizing the Sword. With Obi-Wan’s death, Luke goes from apprentice to warrior and is now in charge of his own destiny. His reward isn’t a sword, although Obi-Wan did give him that. Instead, he joins the Rebel Alliance as an X-Wing fighter pilot, who uses Obi-Wan’s teachings of the Force against insurmountable odds. Luke is now ready for the last part of his journey. 

The third to last stage of the hero’s journey is here: The Road Back. At this point, the hero usually begins his road back to the ordinary world. Luke begins this stage, too, but he is not heading back to Tatooine. Instead, his ordinary world is one without the Empire and the threats of the Death Star. Luke’s road back requires that he joins the Resistance to destroy the Death Star. At this stage, Luke must choose between his needs and the greater good of the rebellion. When Luke turns down Han’s offer to leave, he chooses the greater good and makes the irreversible decision to sacrifice himself for what is right. A lesson he learned from Obi-Wan.

The penultimate is the Resurrection. The climactic final battle takes place, the attack on the Death Star. If Luke fails, the Rebels will be destroyed, and the Empire will rule the galaxy through terror. The odds are against him and the Resistance. The Death Star and the Empire’s forces are much stronger than they are. Ultimately, Luke succeeds by destroying the Death Star thanks to his friend, Han Solo. While Luke is not physically reborn here, he has gone through a spiritual transformation.  Remembering Obi-Wan’s words, Luke trusts the Force and takes the first steps toward becoming a Jedi.

The ultimate stage: Return with The Elixir. The word Elixir refers to a magical potion that is supposed to bring about a positive effect. While Luke does not bring back a magical potion, his return to the Resistance base signifies that his friends and the Rebels will survive to fight another day. We see Luke’s success when he is presented with a medal by Princess Leia. Luke wanted to leave the farm and the Outer Rim, join the larger universe and make a difference that mattered. The ending scene shows that he did just that. The galaxy that seemed so far, far away to Luke, is not anymore.

             This work follows the classical stages of Campbell’s hero’s journey. Luke is pulled from obscurity into his destiny as a Jedi through a chain of events set off by the appearance of two droids in his hometown in search of the Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke and Obi-Wan are then brought together in an attempt to save Princess Leia of Alderaan. Luke gains knowledge of the Force, recruits new companions, the anti-heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca, who are intergalactic smugglers, and crosses the galaxy to save the princess.

The hero’s journey begins with the Call to Adventure. As the Star Wars: A New Hope story begins, a battle in space rages beyond the Outer Rim of the galaxy with the powers of darkness, the Galactic Empire, pursuing the forces of good, the Rebel Alliance. Princess Leia sends a plea for help to the planet below, Luke answers the call. Fate, in the form of traders at a remote outpost, brings her message to the farmboy. Luke’s call to adventure comes when he finds a message stored in R2-D2. After Leia famously says, “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,” we realized that the war above him between the Light and Dark Side have found their way into Luke’s ordinary world. Luke may not realize it then, but his life has been changed forever.

The next stage is Refusal of the Call. Luke starts out refusing the call to adventure when R2-D2 runs off. He wants to get the droid back because he does not want to be in trouble with his uncle. After finding Obi-Wan, Luke still refuses the call to join as he has work to do on Tatooine. Luke doubts his ability to help, saying, “It’s all such a long way from here.” At the end of this stage, Luke returns home to discover his Uncle and Aunt murdered by the Empire and their moisture farm in flames.

Meeting The Mentor. Luke meets Obi-Wan after a run-in with the Sand People chasing R2-D2 into the desert. Obi-Wan explains about the Jedi, the Force, and Luke’s father, but when the wise man offers to teach Luke the ways of the Jedi, Luke turns him down. After he finds his home ruined, Luke returns to Obi-Wan and accepts him as a mentor who will guide him to the next stage of his journey.

“There’s nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.” – Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: A New Hope.

The fifth stage is Crossing the Threshold. Luke leaves home and physically crosses the threshold to Mos Eisley spaceport. When he arrives at the spaceport, he is a stranger in a strange land. At the local cantina, he is confronted with the local denizens, which further confirmed he has no idea how to deal with this new world. Luke’s commitment to the journey and Obi-Wan’s guidance see him through.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies. Luke gathers more allies than enemies to his cause at the Cantina, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. When Luke, Obi-Wan, Han, and Chewy prepare to leave Tatooine, tests will attempt to stop them in the form of Stormtroopers. With the help of his new allies, Luke succeeds in escaping the planet with the droids. He is now on his way to Alderaan.

Approach to The Inmost Cave is the seventh stage. On the way to Alderaan in Han Solo’s freighter, the Millennium Falcon, Luke makes preparations for the difficulties that lie ahead as Obi-Wan begins to teach him about the Force and how to wield a lightsaber. However, they do not make it to Alderaan. They discover that the planet has been destroyed and replaced with the Inmost Cave, a place of danger and conflict, represented by the Death Star. Fear and doubt return to Luke in the face of an overwhelming obstacle. In his own words, “I have a bad feeling about this.”

The Ordeal. The ordeal is a test the hero must overcome, usually by pulling out his skills to defeat an enemy. The rescue of Princess Leia represents this. Luke begins the ordeal of rescuing Princess Leia with the help of his comrades. Their minor success is short-lived when Luke witnesses Obi-Wan’s death during a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader.

Reward or Seizing the Sword. With Obi-Wan’s death, Luke goes from apprentice to warrior and is now in charge of his own destiny. His reward isn’t a sword, although Obi-Wan did give him that. Instead, he joins the Rebel Alliance as an X-Wing fighter pilot, who uses Obi-Wan’s teachings of the Force against insurmountable odds. Luke is now ready for the last part of his journey. 

The third to last stage of the hero’s journey is here: The Road Back. At this point, the hero usually begins his road back to the ordinary world. Luke begins this stage, too, but he is not heading back to Tatooine. Instead, his ordinary world is one without the Empire and the threats of the Death Star. Luke’s road back requires that he joins the Resistance to destroy the Death Star. At this stage, Luke must choose between his needs and the greater good of the rebellion. When Luke turns down Han’s offer to leave, he chooses the greater good and makes the irreversible decision to sacrifice himself for what is right. A lesson he learned from Obi-Wan.

The penultimate is the Resurrection. The climactic final battle takes place, the attack on the Death Star. If Luke fails, the Rebels will be destroyed, and the Empire will rule the galaxy through terror. The odds are against him and the Resistance. The Death Star and the Empire’s forces are much stronger than they are. Ultimately, Luke succeeds by destroying the Death Star thanks to his friend, Han Solo. While Luke is not physically reborn here, he has gone through a spiritual transformation.  Remembering Obi-Wan’s words, Luke trusts the Force and takes the first steps toward becoming a Jedi.

The ultimate stage: Return with The Elixir. The word Elixir refers to a magical potion that is supposed to bring about a positive effect. While Luke does not bring back a magical potion, his return to the Resistance base signifies that his friends and the Rebels will survive to fight another day. We see Luke’s success when he is presented with a medal by Princess Leia. Luke wanted to leave the farm and the Outer Rim, join the larger universe and make a difference that mattered. The ending scene shows that he did just that. The galaxy that seemed so far, far away to Luke, is not anymore.