If you were wondering whether Mark Hamill might play Luke Skywalker once again as a Force ghost, think again. The legendary actor has ruled out a return to the world famous sci-fi franchise, saying it’s now time for Star Wars to move past legacy characters and focus on the future.
In an interview with ComicBook.com to promote his new movie, The Life of Chuck, Hamill was asked about a potential return as Luke’s Force ghost in upcoming Rey-led Star Wars movie, New Jedi Order. His answer was loud and clear: no chance. After all, Luke left his robes behind in 2017’s The Last Jedi.
“I am so grateful to George [Lucas] for letting me be a part of that back in the day, the humble days when George called Star Wars ‘the most expensive low-budget movie ever made,’” Hamill replied.
“We never expected it to become a permanent franchise and a part of pop culture like that. But my deal is, I had my time. I’m appreciative of that, but I really think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.
“And by the way, when I disappeared in [The Last Jedi], I left my robes behind. And there’s no way I’m gonna appear as a naked Force ghost.”
Rey, however, is set to return to the world of Star Wars in the Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed sequel to the universally panned Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker. It will tell the story of Rey as she looks to rebuild the Jedi Order roughly 15 years after the events of that film.
We know next to nothing about New Jedi Order. In January 2024, speaking to AlloCiné, Ridley teased a little more about her new film: “Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do,” she said. “I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world. It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction.”
In the shorter term, The Mandalorian and Grogu is due out 2026. Star Wars: Starfighter, Shawn Levy’s Star Wars movie starring Ryan Gosling, is due out in 2027.
At 2023’s Star Wars Celebration, Lucasfilm announced three new Star Wars feature films: a Dave Filoni-directed New Republic film set in his Mando-verse, a Dawn of the Jedi movie led by James Mangold, and the aforementioned New Jedi Order.
There is still so much that can and will change when it comes to upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows. But what we can be sure of is Mark Hamill playing Force Luke won’t be a part of them.
Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
