Mark Hamill seems to be doubling down on his belief that Luke Skywalker has had his time at the center of the Star Wars Universe. The actor has been frequently casting doubt on both the possibility of him playing the character again in any of the upcoming Star Wars movies, and in a recent interview with CBS News has questioned whether the franchise still needs Luke Skywalker in any form. He said:
"I had my time, and that's good, but that's enough... Well, you never say never. I just don't see any reason to. Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don't need Luke anymore."
Mark Hamill Has Supported The Recasting of Luke Skywalker
Recently, the subject of recasting reared its head, and once again sparked debate over the possible use of deepfake and de-aging technology instead of putting a new actor in well-known roles. For Mark Hamill, he has already made an appearance as Luke Skywalker in both of these technological ways in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. In a new interview, the Star Wars legend opened up about the legacy of his character and how he is not actually opposed to someone else being cast in the role of a young Luke Skywalker. His only reservation is that he doesn’t really think the franchise needs more Luke stories.
Hamill returned as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens and while the movies gained some very divisive opinions from fans, they were financially huge and the story isn’t over yet. With Luke having appeared in The Mandalorian, which is set after Return of the Jedi, the question is will there be more stories being told from that era, and Hamill has his own opinion on whether that should happen, and who should be playing the character if it does. He told Esquire:
"People say, 'Oh, now you're going to be able to do a whole series of Luke post-Return of the Jedi.' I said, 'I don't think so.” First of all, they don't need to tell those stories, but if they do, they could get an age-appropriate actor."
Obviously this is something that Lucasfilm tried with Solo: A Star Wars Story, when Harrison Ford’s Han Solo was played by the much younger Alden Ehrenreich to tell a prequel story about the iconic character. That movie didn’t convert into a box office smash for many reasons, not least the constant comparisons being made between Ehrenreich and Ford in their respective takes on the role.
Will Mark Hamill Return as a Force Ghost in the New Star Wars Movies?
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As well as stories of a younger Luke Skywalker being potentially on the cards in future, more imminently is the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey Skywalker in the first new Star Wars movie from Lucasfilm since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. This film is to be directed by Sharmeen Obadiah-Chinoy and as a direct sequel to the sequel trilogy, there is an opportunity for Hamill to reprise his role as Luke in some way, potentially as a Force ghost. When asked about such a thing happening, Hamill reminded everyone exactly how this kind of information is not something that is openly talked about. He said:
"One thing you learn working for Lucasfilm: everything is confidential. Everything is confidential. So, if I were involved, I wouldn't be able to tell you. And if I were not involved, I wouldn't be able to tell you. So, I don't know. We'll all find out together, I guess."
It looks like we will just have to wait to see if we ever see Mark Hamill play Luke Skywalker again in some capacity, but in the main, it looks like he is mostly done with the character’s on-screen presence.