All it takes to get a movie rumor started in this day and age is one individual slipping the barest hint within shouting distance of a smartphone, especially if the news in question happens to be particularly juicy. So in that light, Mark Hamill definitely deserves credit for knowing how to keep his mouth shut.

It turns out the former Luke Skywalker and his on-screen sis Carrie Fisher have actually known about the new Star Wars trilogy since last year, when they got word from George Lucas himself. Hamill was, however, as surprised as anyone to hear about Lucasfilm’s sale to Disney. Hit the jump to read more and get his thoughts on the deal.

After a year of zipping his lips, Hamill finally let loose in a conversation with Entertainment Weekly. “[Lucas] did tell us last summer about wanting to go on and do [Episodes] VII, VIII, and IX, and that [newly appointed Lucasfilm president] Kathleen Kennedy would be doing them.” He continued:

Yeah, last August, he asked Carrie and I to have lunch with him and we did. I thought he was going to talk about either his retirement or the Star Wars TV series that I’ve heard about — which I don’t think we were going to be involved in anyway, because that takes place between the prequels and the ones we were in and, if Luke were in them, he’d be anywhere from a toddler to a teenager so they’d get an age-appropriate actor — or the 3-D releases. So when he said, “We decided we’re going to do Episodes VII, VIII, and IX,” I was just gobsmacked. “What? Are you nuts?!”

Hamill eventually started to come around on the idea, however — not unlike the way fans have begun to warm up since news first broke earlier this week.

I can see both sides of it. Because in a way, there was a beginning, a middle, and an end and we all lived happily ever after and that’s the way it should be — and it’s great that people have fond memories, if they do have fond memories. But on the other hand, there’s this ravenous desire on the part of the true believers to have more and more and more material. It’s one of those things: people either just don’t care for it or are passionate about it. I guess that defines what cult movies are all about. We’ll see.

Pressed for more information, the actor insisted that he didn’t know much more than the fact that there’d be a sequel. “[Lucas] was just talking about writers and the fact that he wouldn’t be directing,” Hamill said. “I guess he wanted us to know before everybody else knew. He said, ‘Now you can’t tell anybody!’ Even now I’m nervous about saying anything. I just don’t know!”

As for what Hamill thinks of seeing his old franchise sold to the Mouse House, it seems he’s still making up his mind. “I have mixed feelings about that, but they haven’t done badly by Marvel and the Muppets and Pixar,” he said. “It’s one of those big decisions that at first seems unusual but then the more you look at it, the more it makes sense.”