Don’t expect to see Luke Skywalker in any of the upcoming films Lucasfilm has planned — even as a spectral Force Ghost.
The 73-year-old actor, who has appeared in five live-action Star Wars films and made de-aged cameos in The Mandalorian TV series, suggested that Skywalker’s run is over — and should be over.
“I am so grateful to [creator 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,’” said Hamill during an interview with ComicBook.com to promote his new film, the Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck. “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,” he added, “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.”
The comments come despite Lucasfilm developing a film that would be an obvious project for Skywalker to appear in — a Rise of Skywalker follow-up focused on Daisy Ridley’s Rey, who was Skywalker’s mentee in the sequel trilogy. The film from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy picks up roughly 15 years after the events in Skywalker and follows Rey’s efforts to build a new Jedi order. The New Order film is only in development, however, along with many other titles.
Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy previously teased the film, saying, “Well, we’re 15 years out from Rise of Skywalker, so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. And, there’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ And, [Rey]’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that’s where we’re going.”
The next confirmed Star Wars title is The Mandalorian & Grogu coming May 22, 2026, followed a year later by Star Wars: Starfighter from Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling.
Regarding Hamill’s joking comment about leaving his robes behind, he and the late Carrie Fisher appeared as force ghosts at the end of Rise of Skywalker, and he indeed was robed. And hardcore Star Wars fans will counter that in 1977’s A New Hope, when Darth Vader killed Obi-Wan Kenobi, his robes were also left behind — but Alec Guinness still appeared in his robes when he showed up as a Force Ghost in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Hamill’s career has been busier than ever the last few years. The Life of Chuck is a sci-fi adaptation of a Stephen King story from Hamill’s The Fall of the House of Usher filmmaker Mike Flanagan this month. He also stars in another King adaptation, the long-awaited adaptation of the author’s cult favorite novel The Long Walk, which is out in September.
