Festival of Return

During his time on Ahch-To, Luke Skywalker attended the Festival every month it was held.

In 34 ABY, Rey, a woman strong in the Force, was present on the island, seeking training from Luke Skywalker. While having a lesson with him, she heard a bell and observed the Visitors traveling to the festival. Skywalker joined her, stating the group was a tribe from a neighboring island who every month came to raid and plunder the Caretaker village. Rey, aghast, began running, stating that they had to stop it, only for Skywalker to state that a true Jedi would do nothing. If she were to respond with force, then the raiding party would be back in greater numbers the next month and that the sacred Jedi texts would advise her to ignore her anger and only act when she could maintain balance.

Rey, however, refused to accept this, thinking of other atrocities she had been helpless to stop, such as the Hosnian Cataclysm. She made her way to the village, teeth bared and raising her lightsaber, only to discover a party atmosphere. Realizing her mistake in time, she twirled the lightsaber in a ceremonial fashion and was warmly welcomed. She spotted Chewbacca with a mug of some beverage, resting a fist on the dome of the astromech droid R2-D2. As she furiously stared out at the planet's moon-lit ocean, Skywalker joined her and she after a lengthy pause, she questioned his terminology, "raid and plunder." He responded that it was true "in a way," but when she asked if it was a joke, he sheepishly responded that he did not think that she would run so fast. As they talked, a group of Lanai musicians began playing a tune and Skywalker held out his hand for Rey to dance. Rey admitted that she had never before danced and Skywalker pointed out that she had also never before singlehandedly fought a . The two danced for a time before returning to their conversation, Rey stating that she was just trying to do something. Skywalker responded that this was exactly what the Resistance she was trying to help needed, rather than a "failed husk of a religion" like the Jedi Order, asking if she understood. Rey, however, remained unconvinced, stating that what she understood was that their friends were dying and that she had believed in the legend of Luke Skywalker he hated so much. With that, she left him alone.

The Festival of Return was created for the film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi but ultimately deleted from the final version. In commentary for the home video release of the film, director Rian Johnson stated that there was a big back and forth as to whether to cut the scene, for a number of reasons. One of these was an excellent performance by both Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Daisy Ridley as Rey, with Rey being a "badass" as she approaches the Caretaker village with her lightsaber. He also lamented the loss of the creature work with the Caretakers and Visitors, as well as the final scene between Skywalker and Rey. Ultimately, however, it was felt that the for the pacing of the overall movie, it would be a scene that viewers would just want to move past, and that the film's other scenes worked to place the relationship between the two characters where it needed to be. The scene was retained in both the adult and junior novelizations of the film, though the adult novelization features an extended version of the sequence in which Skywalker and Rey dance together during the ceremony, before arguing.

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary