Over the weekend, Mark Hamill shared an image of himself as Luke Skywalker on Instagram. “May The 9th Be A Bittersweet Episode- Knowing It Was The Last Time I Would Ever Play Luke,” he wrote, adding the hashtag “#ByeByeSkywalker.” Not much ambiguity there. But just in case: the Star Wars actor confirmed in an interview that after playing Darth Vader’s son (spoiler!) Luke from 1977’s A New Hope to 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, he’s officially retired from bullseye-ing womp rats.
“I had a beginning, middle, and end. Those films gave me far more than I ever expected when we started out so it’s never even occurred to me. My farewell was in Episode IX and it was bittersweet,” Hamill told Entertainment Weekly. “I love all those people and I certainly have affection for George and the character he created. I’m full of gratitude for what it has given me and my career, but I don’t want to be greedy. There are still so many more stories to tell and so many great actors to tell them, they don’t need me.”
Disney hasn’t announced the plot of the next Star Wars film — we don’t even know who the director is; maybe Rian Johnson, maybe Taika Waiti, maybe someone TBA — but whenever it comes out, you (probably) won’t hear the name “Skywalker” or (maker-willing) “Palpatine.” Give the people what they want: no Luke Skywalker, but yes Watto!
(Via Entertainment Weekly)