Warning:

The following article contains theories about Episode VII that may or may not ruin your viewing experience. If you don't want to risk possible spoilers, just click here instead.

Last week Lucas Films released the third trailer for "The Force Awakens," which opens December 18. Star Wars fans across the globe are buzzing with anticipation, however it seems the more information we're given, the more questions are raised. While there are many quandaries surrounding the trailers and teaser poster, perhaps the most glaring anomaly is the absence of Luke Skywalker.

Let's break it down.

While still exciting enough to send fans into a frenzy, the first trailer offers only brief glimpses at characters such as Finn, BB-8, Rey, and the ominous Kylo Ren. At this point, we are only given vague information, and there is no mention of any of the original characters.

The second trailer however, gives us just enough tantalizing details to beg many questions. It opens with a voiceover, which has been confirmed to be Luke (Mark Hamill) himself repeating his line from Return of the Jedi, "The force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it." However in this trailer, he tacks on an additional member, stating, "You have that power too." Then we are given our only (possible) visible evidence of Luke Skywalker's presence in the film--his assumed hand resting on R2D2.

Now the colors here are actually very important. In the original trilogy, the symbolism of black and white representing the influence of the dark side vs. the light side was very prominent. In Return of the Jedi, Luke is seen wearing black the entire film which indicates how close he was to letting his fear and hate lead him to the dark side. However at the end of the film, his top falls open to reveal a white interior, signifying the inner goodness that was always there.

Here in Episode VII we have similar symbolism. Luke is seen with a white sleeve, but a black cloak. What does it mean? Well we're not exactly sure yet, but there is a sinister conspiracy brewing which concerns Luke's ultimate destiny. Here it is:

Luke falls to the dark side and becomes this trilogy's main antagonist.

This is a wonderful plot twist! Not only is our villain someone relevant to the previous movies, but it is someone who used to be our hero. What happens when you take a messiah figure and distort him into an evil character? You kick the audience in the gut, and that's a good thing. That is good because now the audience cares about the antagonist. They are invested in him as a character and they are concerned for his fate.

This would explain Luke's absence from trailers and posters, as it would be too big of a spoiler to reveal anything about our new antihero. It would also neatly set up the entire story arc for the rest of the trilogy. Plus the third trailer does nothing to disprove this theory.

Important clarifying notes:

This theory does not claim that Luke Skywalker is actually Kylo Ren or any of the already--casted bad guys in this film. I do not believe Luke is hiding behind one of the masks, but rather he is acting as the new Sith Lord over the entire dark-side movement.

Why did Luke become evil? It could be any number of reasons: it's in his blood, he's already been tempted in the past, he has many excuses to nurse his hate. The possibilities are endless. The real question is can he come back to the light side? Hmm...

Lastly, this is all conjecture and it's all for fun. Who knows what J.J. Abrams has crafted for us, but you can bet your right hand it will be fantastic, even if you're blinded by lens flares.