In a deleted scene of Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker meets his friends at Tosche Station and is greeted with the nickname “Wormie.” The unfortunate nickname has since appeared in both canon and Legends sources, though its origin is a bit vague. What we know for sure about the nickname — it’s more or less shorthand storytelling for Luke’s poor experience on Tatooine.
The character who calls Luke Wormie in the deleted scene is named Camie Marstrap (Koo Stark). From the name-calling to Camie’s aggressive behavior, it seems Camie is not Luke’s biggest fan on Tatooine. Her bulling is especially noticeable when she condescendingly says to her boyfriend, Laze “Fixer” Loneozner, “I think Wormie’s caught too much sun.” Camie’s treatment of Luke seems to fluctuate between disregard to open hostility when she tears binoculars out of his hands to get a look at what Luke believes to be a space battle, which is actually Leia Organa’s ship being boarded by Imperials. Luke’s friends dismiss his claims, and Camie tosses the binoculars back to him and says, “Don’t worry about it, Wormie.”
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Due to both the deleted scenes and the script, one can assume Camie originated the nickname considering she is the only one to use it. In Legends, it was confirmed in A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker by Ryder Windham that Camie “encouraged others to call [Luke] Wormie, and for no good reason that he could think of.” So the origin of the nickname, at least in Legends continuity, was Camie Marstrap’s mean-spirited influence on Luke’s group of friends. There are points in Legends when Camie’s boyfriend, Fixer, also calls Luke “Wormie,” and so did his friend Windy, who was comparatively kinder to Luke.
Canonically, there is not much in terms of Luke’s childhood nickname. While mentioned in Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know by Adam Bray, the first canonical source since the deleted scenes in A New Hope to reintroduce the nickname was the 2015 Marvel Star Wars comic. In the comic’s fifth issue, Boba Fett searches Tatooine for anyone who might know the identity of the rebel who destroyed the Death Star. Boba finds one of Luke’s former friends — though it is unclear which friend as the man was never named — and tortures him until he reveals Luke’s name. Considering the man’s familiarity with Biggs Darklighter, and his claim that they “called [Luke] Wormie,” it is possible he was one of Luke’s childhood friends, such as Fixer or Windy.
The canonical mention of Luke’s nickname is a reminder of his “friends” on Tatooine and their general attitude toward him. Though Biggs did not seem to join in on the teasing, Luke’s other friends had no issue referring to him as “Wormie.” The nickname is not only unfortunate but probably meant to be hurtful rather than affectionate. The purpose of the nickname, from a storytelling perspective, showed the audience that Luke was the odd one out among his peers.
According to Mark Hamill in an interview with Rolling Stones Magazine, “this beautiful actress calls [Luke] Wormie,” and he “loved it [because] you saw that he wasn’t well-liked by his peers.” As far as Luke’s relationships with people on Tatooine, there did not seem to be any love lost between him and the friends he left behind. Considering he was the closest with Biggs Darklighter, who did not partake in the teasing, it is not surprising that Luke found it easy to leave Tatooine after the deaths of his aunt and uncle, and Biggs’ departure for the Rebellion.
The nickname Wormie ultimately served to separate Luke from his peers and depict him as the sort of person who is easily underestimated by those around him. Camie Marstraps antagonism toward Luke in the deleted scenes, despite him being correct about what was happening in space above them, proved how easily Luke was overlooked and cast aside as an underdog from the start. As unfortunate as the nickname is, it does reflect the notion that anyone can be a hero, even those that are constantly looked down upon.
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