What if Disney+ gave Star Wars a “What If” series? If so, we could get answers for questions both large and small, serious and joking. That could be entertaining.
In this case, we could answer what if Luke had gone to Tosche Station and gotten his power converters. That is what Luke wanted to do in A New Hope. Let’s find out what it would mean.
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Luke, Power Converters, and Tosche Station
The scene we are discussing, for those not familiar with it, is when Luke went with Uncle Owen to buy C-3PO and R2-D2 from the Jawas.
Owen told Luke to bring back 3PO and initially a red astromech droid to get “cleaned up before dinner.” Luke protested that he was about to go to “Tosche Station to pick up some power converters.”
Tosche Station is “a power station and repair shop on the outskirts of Anchorhead” where Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru lived.
It was operated by Luke’s friend Laze Loneozner, and both Laze and Luke were friends with future Rebel pilot Biggs Darklighter.
Luke was going to get power converters but more importantly to spend time with Laze, Biggs, and other friends away from his moisture farm chores.
If he had gone, Luke probably would not have become the main Jedi hero in the original trilogy. As his uncle stated, Luke was going to Tosche Station to “waste time with his friends.”
If Luke had gone off, he may have returned late and not gone off in search of the two droids. A New Hope would not have unfolded the same. Or, would it?
What If Luke Got Those Power Converters?
As one fan here has pointed out, if “Disney+ can give Marvel a ‘What If?’ series, they can give us one for Star Wars too.”
If that dream were realized, then we could answer questions like this one about Luke getting those power converters.
As some fans have posted, we may get a joking answer, such as Luke intersecting with Rey and asking, “Rey, you were a scavenger, could you get me some power converters? I think I last saw some in the Death Star.”
Joking aside, could Luke have gotten the power converters, and the story in A New Hope still continued as it did in the original movie? Some fans think so.
If Luke had gone to Tosche Station, the events of the first film “would have been delayed by a few hours,” nothing more.
Maybe Luke would have spent time with his friends, but the Force would come and awaken him and give him “some kind of destiny nudge” that placed him back “on the same path.”
Other fans in the above discussion think otherwise, though. It could have been that Luke was delayed until morning and came back to find his aunt and uncle killed.
What if he then reported the murders to the Imperials, who said it was the Rebels who did it, and all this led to Luke becoming “an imperial pilot” who fought against the Rebellion?
In these what-if scenarios, we see Luke either following or abandoning the path of the light side of the Force.
Would Luke Have Followed or Abandoned the Force?
Whether the film stayed the same or changed pivots on whether Luke would have still followed the light side of the Force if he got those converters.
Or, the question boils down to whether Luke would follow his destiny or not, and we know how tricky that can be in Star Wars.
That is, Luke did not follow his supposed destiny with Darth Vader where father and son ruled the galaxy.
So, destiny in that sense is not inevitable. His other destiny, and the main one that Luke did follow, was following the Force and becoming perhaps the ultimate Jedi.
Even if he got those power converters, we could argue that Luke would still have become the lead Jedi of the original films.
As the son of Anakin, and guided by Obi-Wan and Yoda, Luke would follow that path even with a detour like picking up power converters.
If he could contend with the power and influence of both Vader and the Emperor, then Luke would surely find his path around Tosche Station.
Luke and Those Power Converters
Luke never did get those power converters, so we are left with a what-if question. It is reasonable to think that his journey to becoming a Jedi could have been disrupted if he had gotten them. Yet, it seems more likely that in this universe Luke was following a destiny that could not be derailed.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan. He has covered such topics as Darth Vader, the Jedi, Boba Fett, and AT-AT Walkers. Todd has published a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.