Will he; won’t he?

That’s currently one of the most pressing questions floating around Star Wars: Episode IX, as budding fans theorize about Luke Skywalker’s potential involvement – or lack thereof – in the upcoming sequel.

If you recall, in a powerful and profound moment of self-sacrifice, Mark Hamill’s character gave his life in order to save the Resistance during the finale of Episode VIII, where he called on the Force to project a hologram of himself half-way across the galaxy. And so, once the penny dropped, Luke’s robes crumpled before our very eyes, as the iconic hero basked in the ethereal glow of a twin sunset.

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But the question remains: will Luke Skywalker feature in Episode IX? We’re inclined to say yes, perhaps in Force ghost form, and though Hamill has said in the past that he’d be interested in returning, he’s now changing his tune, it seems. Talking to Games Radar in a recent interview, the actor admitted that he hasn’t given much thought to it just yet, as Luke’s story is now done.

“I haven’t really thought about it because there’s such a sense of closure, Luke’s story is told. What more can I do? And you know, you have to start disconnecting from it emotionally.”

Aside from that, with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher gone from the franchise, he’s not as inclined to travel back to that galaxy far, far away as he once was.

“The main thing [that shocked me in Star Wars: The Force Awakens] was – Han Solo is killed! I’ll never get to work with Harrison again. Luke will never see Han again. That’s what struck me, that was the first break, we lost a member of the band. And then what happened with Luke [in The Last Jedi], I said ‘Ok, that’s the next link’ when I was still thinking I’ll come back as a Force ghost. And then to lose Carrie in real life, I said ‘That’s it’. They say you can never go home again, and that for me was the real indication that it’s time to move on.”

While Hamill’s comments here are sound, we still think he’ll have a role to play in Episode IX. Frankly, it just wouldn’t feel right closing out the trilogy and not having him involved in any way. There’s no doubt that if he does show up in Abrams’ upcoming blockbuster, it’ll certainly be his last appearance in the franchise, but even if it’s just a cameo as a Force ghost, we really think the actor should be included in the movie.

Before we get there, though, next up for Lucasfilm’s juggernaut is the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story on May 25th, and it’s looking prettier than ever. Episode IX will then follow suit in 2019, before the Powers That Be begin devoting their attention to Rian Johnson’s all-new Star Wars trilogy, which continues to pique our curiosity with every passing interview.