Thanks to a comment that Mark Hamill made over the weekend, the internet went into a frenzy over the fact that Star Wars: Episode VIII might be the last time we see Luke Skywalker on the big screen. Apparently, the actor told the audience at a charity event that “I finish Episode VIII, and then I’m out of work.” Obviously, you can see why people came to the conclusion that they did.
Earlier today though, Hamill took to Twitter to clear the air, stating that the whole thing was just a misunderstanding.
I meant “out of work” because #Ep8 is wrapping soon, OK? #DontOverThinkEVERYTHING #ParsingHamill #WaitForVIII https://t.co/5CIJ5Gqo99
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) June 27, 2016
Now, what’s interesting to note here is that the Tweet simply indicates that production on Episode VIII is wrapping up soon. It in no way means that Luke still won’t die in the film.
That being said, I doubt they’d kill of Luke after doing so to Han in The Force Awakens, and I fully expect him to make it to the end of at least Episode IX, but you never know. We’re still not sure how exactly he’s going to factor in things and until we do, we really have no idea what direction Disney will take the iconic character in.
Directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode VIII will fly into theatres on December 15th, 2017.