Luke Skywalker has officially spoken, and no, it’s not a Force ghost whispering through a lightsaber crystal. It’s Mark Hamill himself, giving a firm (yet charming) “Nah, I’m good” when asked about returning to the Star Wars galaxy for the nth time.
Mark Hamill: “I Had My Time”
In a recent interview with ComicBook, Hamill got real about the idea of stepping back into those space boots again. “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 said. “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.”
Hamill’s statement came after the confirmation that Rey’s Star Wars journey is set to continue with the upcoming movie New Jedi Order. Since Luke Skywalker is her mentor, fans have been wondering if Hamill will appear in the movie.
He also joked about another reason why he wouldn’t return to the successful franchise: “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.”
What’s Next for Him?
Hamill is set to appear in The Long Walk, a dystopian horror movie based on the 1979 novel Stephen King under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. The movie follows a group of young men enter an annual walking contest where they need to walk three miles per hour without stopping or be killed until only one of the is left. Aside from Hamill, the movie also stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Joshua Odjick, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, and Judy Greer.
He is also set to lend his voice to the animated adventure-comedy The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, where he will voice the Flying Dutchman, the movie’s villain.