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Will Luke Skywalker Die In Star Wars 8? Mark Hamill Scares Some Fans In London

By Susan Macdonald
Published on: 05:13 PST, Jun 28, 2016

Will Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker die in Star Wars 8? Mark Hamill gave his fans a scare when he mentioned he’d be “out of work,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Some fans took the comment out of context and immediately began speculating that Luke Skywalker would be killed off in the next Star Wars movie, possibly to leave the path clear for Daisy Ridley’s Rey to be the main hero and/or to avenge her teacher.

It wasn’t a spoiler by Mark Hamill. It wasn’t a plot teaser, nor deliberate misdirection, or even one of Mark’s famous practical jokes. Hamill simply meant that with Star Wars 8 finishing principal filming and moving on to post-production, he would be available for new projects.

Raidió Teilifís Éireann, or RTÉ, was quick to explain that Mark Hamill, who’s been filming Star Wars Episode VIII in Ireland, was not hinting at Luke Skywalker’s death in the next movie, which is due to be released in December 15, 2018.

Following mounting speculation that the latest Star Wars film would be his last, Hamill headed to Twitter so he could clarify matters and get anxious fans to calm down.

Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in both the movie and radio versions of the Star Wars series, did not intend to frighten fans. Hamill was at a charity event in London, supporting the homeless charity The Big Issue. Although The Hollywood Reporter said that Hamill “reportedly told the audience, ‘I finish Episode VIII, and then I’m out of work’,” British writer Sara Tasker said that Hamill was speaking to musician Ray Davies of The Kinks at the time. Hamill was interviewing Davies as part of the charity fundraiser, according to Den of Geek, who was among the first to spread the rumor.

Hamill told the crowd that “I finish Episode VIII, and then I’m out of work.” The notable implication — although not outright confirmation — being that he might not actually be involved in Star Wars: Episode IX. Might be something, might be nothing. But we thought you might just want to know.

In addition to being an actor and voice actor, Mark Hamill has worked in other areas of film production, including directing, editing, producing, and writing. He co-wrote the comic book series “The Black Pearl” for Dark Horse Comics and has written several stories for “Simpson Comics” for Bongo Comics. He’s qualified to help edit a documentary on The Kinks, and as a long-time fan of the band, interested and eager.

Although he’s most famous for playing Luke Skywalker in the movies and on radio and for doing the voice of the Joker for cartoons and videogames, Mark Hamill is a talented actor with a wider variety of roles in his resume than most people realize. He’s been acting since he was 19. Now 64-years-old, that gives Hamill decades of experience in TV, film, stage, radio, audio-books, and video games. He’s performed in roles as diverse as a student on Room 222, Turtle in My Friends Tigger and Pooh, John Merrick in the stage version of The Elephant Man, Private Griff in The Big Red One, Professor Arnold in Kingsman: The Secret Service, dogcatcher Lamar Benfield in Walking Across Egypt, an alien scientist in seaQuest DSV, the biblical Judah in Joseph: King of Dreams, the criminal Crow in Sushi Girl, and FBI Agent John Curtis in Criminal Minds. He’ll be starring in the upcoming film Minkow as Robert Minkow, father of con man Barry Minkow. Mark Hamill is a self-admitted science fiction and comic book geek, and has been since before he first portrayed Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: A New Hope. His mockumentary, Comic Book: the Movie, which he starred in and directed, won four awards. It was filmed at San Diego Comic-Con, where Hamill has been a frequent guest.

Are you looking forward to seeing Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars 8 or Robert Minkow in Minkow? Tell us in the comments section.

[Photo by Jordan Strauss/AP Images]

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