No One Told Mark Hamill Star Wars 10 Was Happening

Star Wars fans are looking forward to seeing Rey (Daisy Ridley) continue her journey in the upcoming movie New Jedi Order, but Ridley’s sequel trilogy co-star Mark Hamill was unaware such a project was in development. In an interview with ComicBook promoting his new movie The Life of Chuck (out in select theaters June 6th and nationwide June 13th), Hamill was asked if he would be up to appear as Luke Skywalker’s Force ghost in New Jedi Order. Before explaining why he believes it’s better if he doesn’t return to the Star Wars franchise, Hamill seemed surprised to learn New Jedi Order is on the way.

“In what?” Hamill inquired when asked about his potential role in “the Rey movie.” When told that it’s one of the future Star Wars films that’s been officially announced, Hamill responded, “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

Along with James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi and Dave Filoni’s New Republic movie, New Jedi Order was one of the Star Wars films revealed during a panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023. While director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been attached from the start, New Jedi Order has cycled through several writers over the past couple of years. The Bourne Ultimatum scribe George Nolfi is the latest to take a stab at it, drawing from George Lucas’ political influences.

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Though New Jedi Order does not have a release date as of this writing, it remains in active development. It was one of the many films Lucasfilm highlighted when outlining its future movie slate during a presentation at Star Wars Celebration Japan in April. The next two Star Wars movies due out are The Mandalorian & Grogu in 2026 and Star Wars: Starfighter in 2027.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise Hamill was seemingly in the dark about New Jedi Order; he isn’t involved with the film behind the scenes, and outside of Ridley, there haven’t been any casting announcements. Even if Hamill was game to come back as Luke’s Force ghost, actors are typically among the last to know about certain projects that are in development. That Hamill was unaware of New Jedi Order indicates that Lucasfilm hasn’t reached out to him about a possible return. If a role for Luke was on the table, the studio might have contacted the actor to gauge his interest about reprising the part before doing too much work on the script. It would present problems if there was a finished screenplay and Hamill turned down an offer.

Things could change down the line, but seeing that Hamill is ready to move on from Star Wars, the odds are Luke won’t appear on screen whenever New Jedi Order opens. Ridley has spoken about how one of the challenges for her will be acting alongside a new supporting cast, implying Rey might be one of the only (the only?) familiar face audiences see in the film. Because of their history together, Rey and Luke will forever be linked, but it’s time for Rey to embark on a journey on her own. This time, she’s the mentor figure looking to guide others. While it’s true it’s never too late to teach an old Jedi a new lesson (see: Yoda’s scene with Luke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Rey can still call upon Luke’s teachings without actually interacting with his Force ghost.