Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) journey in the "Star Wars" franchise comes full circle in "The Last Jedi," dying after an epic showdown with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). However, the question still remains if the Jedi is truly gone for good.
It seems possible that him vanishing in Ach-To after draining all his powers projecting himself to stall the First Order was the last of Hamill's iconic role. After all, he did suggest last year that he may be done with the franchise after Rian Johnson's film, saying, "I finish Episode VIII, and then I'm out of work." However, when asked recently, the actor is optimistic that he will still be back for Episode 9.
"I'm just still holding on to the line, 'See you around, kid,'" he told Entertainment Weekly following an Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences screening of the movie. "I can be in Episode Nine! I might consider catering the film just so I can hang out."
At this point, the smart money is on the character returning as a Force Ghost much like Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) did in the latest film and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in the earlier ones. With the Jedi ability to come back via a Force Ghost, this option has always been a possibility especially because he is the only one left in the franchise's big three.
It is hard to imagine the trilogy capper to go on without one legacy character in it. According to Screen Rant, "Star Wars 9" would have centered on Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia, but the actress tragically passed away last year; and since Harrison Ford's Han Solo is a goner, chances are Hamill would be sticking around perhaps to guide Rey (Daisy Ridley) in her journey or haunt Kylo.
Fans can only keep their fingers crossed and speculate for now. "Star Wars Episode 9" will not premiere until Dec. 20, 2019. Lucasfilm would hopefully drop tidbits of information to get through that long break. In the meantime, fans can re-watch "The Last Jedi," which is still in theaters right now.
