Luke Skywalker's Star Wars Future Beyond The Force Awakens Confirmed

We’re still a few weeks away from Star Wars: The Force Awakens but we now know what Mark Hamill will be up to when it comes to Episode VIII. We’re going to call this a SPOILER WARNING just in case you don’t want to know anything about it.

We may not know exactly what Mark Hamill will be doing in Star Wars: Episode VII but whatever it is we can now be confident that whatever it is, he’s going to continue to do it in Episode VIII. Also, he’s keeping the beard.

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In response to a fan’s question on Twitter Hamill says that he hasn’t shaved in a month in order to have the requisite beard that the character requires. We’ve seen in images he’s got a fairly extensive beard as part of the role. We hope you like it, as apparently it won’t be going anywhere.

While this is isn’t the first time that we’ve heard that Skywalker would be in the next episode of the Star Wars saga, it is the first direct confirmation of that we’ve seen directly from the man himself. A strong rumor is one thing, a statement on the record is quite another. Apparently the fact that Hamill is going to be in the next film is not part of the actor’s non-disclosure agreement. Either that, or the guy may have just cost himself some cash.

The fate of Luke Skywalker is the primary mystery of the upcoming Star Wars film, or at least of the advertising of it. He’s nowhere to be seen, and what exactly his fate is remains a major unknown. Confirmation that Episode VII won’t be Luke’s last stand doesn’t give us nearly as much information as we may like as far as answering that primary question. If Luke is actually a villain, it just means that he won’t suffer Darth Maul’s fate at the end of The Force Awakens though that isn’t too surprising. If Luke Skywalker is the big bad, we expect he’ll be the big bad for the entire new trilogy. If he’s still one of our heroes then he likely won’t be suffering an Obi-Wan like fate either. Unless his only appearance in Episode VIII is as a Jedi ghost. We’re not going to dwell too long on that thought, though anything IS possible.

So one way or another, Mark Hamill isn’t done yet. Luke Skywalker is like James Bond. He will return.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.