Mark Hamill as Force Ghost Luke Skywalker in The Rise of Skywalker. Lucasfilm

Mark Hamill Says His Luke Skywalker Days Are Officially Behind Him

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Eric Diaz | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 11:59 AM ET

Don’t expect to see Mark Hamill as a Force Ghost in any new Star Wars film in the near future or possibly ever again. While speaking to Comicbook.com, the iconic actor made it pretty clear that his days as Luke Skywalker are behind him. Hamill shares the opinion of many Star Wars fans, believing the franchise needs to start looking toward the future, instead of leaning on the Skywalker Saga past. Here’s what he had to say on a possible return as Luke:

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. 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 think they should focus on the future and all the new characters.

Hamill also joked by saying that Luke “disappeared in [The Last Jedi], I left my robes behind. And there’s no way I’m gonna appear as a naked force ghost.” We know he’s just having fun here, because Luke did indeed appear as a fully clothed Force Ghost in The Rise of Skywalker. Whatever your feelings on that movie are, Force Ghost Luke standing next to his “Space Sis” Carrie Fisher as Leia is as good a moment to say farewell to the character as any.

If the Rey-centric movie ever gets off the ground, we honestly did expect to see a Force Ghost Luke cameo. But it seems like Mark Hamill is ruling that out now. Future Star Wars installments might not have Luke in them, in terms of legacy characters. But if R2, C-3PO, and Chewie don’t appear, color us surprised. If Hamill is really done playing Luke, that means his canonical final appearance was in The Book of Boba Fett. Maybe not the best installment to go out on. But no one is going to hold it against Mark Hamill for how that show turned out.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

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