Mark Hamill opens up about Luke Skywalker’s future in Star Wars – what could come next for the iconic Jedi?

For decades, Luke Skywalker stood as the mythic heart of Star Wars, the farm boy turned Jedi Master, the last hope of the galaxy, the legend who walked between light and darkness. But now, Mark Hamill has said it plainly: that journey is over.

In a recent interview with Fresh Air on NPR, the actor made it clear he’s stepping away from the role for good, closing a chapter that helped define a generation of storytelling. There will be no ghostly returns, no surprise cameos, no more blue sabers flickering in the hands of an aging Skywalker.

“I had my time,” he said, with the kind of clarity that feels both generous and final.

And just like that, the galaxy shifts again.

His words arrive just as Star Wars prepares to launch New Jedi Order, the next film in the saga and the first to rebuild the Jedi legacy without Luke at its center.

With Rey stepping into the light as the future of the Order, and Mark Hamill’s departure giving that handover an unexpected weight, one question lingers louder than ever: if Luke’s presence fades into myth, could someone else one day pick up the mantle? And if so, might that someone be Sebastian Stan, a fan favorite, a lookalike, and a name that keeps surfacing whenever the Skywalker legacy is in play?

Mark Hamill makes it clear: Luke Skywalker belongs to the past

It wasn’t a cryptic tweet, a veiled hint, or a coy interview dodge. It was a clear farewell. When Mark Hamill recently addressed the future of Star Wars, he spoke with a calm certainty that carried the weight of finality.

“I had my time,” he said, and that time, by his own admission, is over.

After decades of carrying Luke Skywalker across trilogies, timelines, and formats, from idealistic youth to haunted mentor, Mark Hamill has officially stepped back. There’s no anger in it, no resentment. Only closure.

“I’m appreciative of that, but I think they should focus on the future and all the new characters,” he explained, reflecting on his journey with the kind of grace only someone deeply entwined with a legacy could offer.

He spoke of George Lucas, of humble beginnings, of a movie once called “the most expensive low-budget film ever made,” and of a franchise that grew into myth. Mark Hamill sounds less like a man closing a door than a storyteller handing down a tale to new voices.

And if anyone thought there was still a back door open for some spectral return, perhaps a brief cameo as a Force ghost, Mark Hamill was quick to shut it with the kind of humor that only he could get away with:

“When I disappeared in The Last Jedi, I left my robes behind. And there’s no way I’m gonna appear as a naked Force ghost.”

Could Sebastian Stan be next in line?

Long before The Mandalorian brought a de-aged Luke Skywalker back to life, fans were already pointing to another actor as a perfect fit to carry the Jedi mantle forward.

Sebastian Stan’s resemblance to a young Mark Hamill has been the subject of memes, petitions, and side-by-side photos that practically scream canon. However, what started as fan casting picked up unexpected momentum when Mark Hamill himself leaned into the idea. Asked about it in interviews, he didn’t dodge. He smiled and said,

“He doesn’t need my blessing. He’s a wonderful actor. I’d love to see him play Luke, if it ever happened.”

For many fans, that was enough to spark full-blown speculation. What if Lucasfilm chose to revisit the uncharted years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens? What if there were stories left to tell, ones that didn’t rely on digital recreations or voice synths, but on flesh-and-blood actors bringing the Skywalker mythos to life again? In those, Sebastian Stan wouldn’t be replacing Mark Hamill. He’d be exploring the spaces Mark Hamill never got to inhabit on screen.

Stan, for his part, has always approached the idea with cautious respect. He once joked that he’d only take the role if Mark Hamill personally told him to do it. That comment, paired with Mark Hamill’s public approval, created a rare moment of synergy between fan desire and potential studio direction. It’s not official. It’s not even rumored in production circles. But the door is there.

With Star Wars now exploring multiple timelines, legacy characters, and narrative experiments, the possibility of seeing Stan as Luke feels less like wishful thinking and more like a card waiting to be played.

A new Jedi era without the old masters

For the first time in decades, a Star Wars film will attempt to rebuild the Jedi legacy without Luke Skywalker looming in the margins. New Jedi Order, slated for 2027, puts Rey at the narrative center, tasked with reestablishing the Jedi in a galaxy still aching from war and failure. It’s not just a new story. It’s a new lineage, and one that begins not in the shadows of the Skywalker bloodline but beyond it.

There will be no old masters guiding her path, no Force ghosts whispering wisdom, and no blue lightsaber handed down like a sacred relic. The film is charting a course where the Jedi must mean something else entirely, and that decision carries a narrative weight. After decades of Luke being the axis on which Jedi storytelling spun, New Jedi Order is breaking orbit.

And that break is made sharper by Mark Hamill’s public exit. His absence isn’t just logistical, it’s symbolic. By stepping aside now, he allows the story to stop relying on echoes and start building something unburdened. That choice makes Rey’s journey feel more urgent, more dangerous. There’s no safety net of legacy, only the challenge of carving a future from the ruins of what came before.

Still, Luke Skywalker lingers. Not in flesh, not in spirit, but as myth. As the impossible standard Rey is now expected to surpass, or at least redefine. And that shadow may be the most powerful presence in the galaxy yet.

What the future might still hold

Mark Hamill has stepped away, but the story surrounding Luke Skywalker still has open ends. His arc may be complete, but his presence is woven deep into the fabric of the galaxy. The character shaped the mythos, trained the heroes, rebuilt the Order, and failed spectacularly. That legacy doesn’t vanish just because the actor is done.

We’ve already seen the power and limits of technology. In The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Luke came back to life through digital wizardry. De-aged visuals, reconstructed voices, synthetic presence. It was technically impressive, even haunting. But it also felt like a threshold moment. Just because you can resurrect a character frame by frame doesn't mean you always should. There's a fine line between tribute and imitation.

Animation could offer a more flexible path. Luke has been largely absent from the animated side of the franchise, but there’s nothing stopping Lucasfilm from exploring that space.

A show set in the years between trilogies could track his journey across forgotten worlds, looking for Jedi knowledge, failing, rebuilding. Freed from the need to match Mark Hamill's exact face or voice, an animated Luke could be bold, strange, and unexpectedly personal.

And then there’s the one door that still gets fans talking. Recasting. We’ve seen it work before. Ewan McGregor redefined Obi-Wan, Donald Glover made Lando his own. If Lucasfilm ever commits to exploring the years of Luke’s life that remain offscreen, they don’t need algorithms. They need a new actor who understands the weight and silence that come with playing a legend. Someone who doesn’t impersonate Mark Hamill, but builds something new from what he left behind.

Luke steps back, but the Force moves forward

Is Mark Hamill officially out of Star Wars? According to himself? Yes. And with that, a new space opens. The exit of such a defining presence doesn’t signal loss. It signals possibility. Without Luke Skywalker anchoring the narrative, the galaxy has a chance to evolve. It’s no longer about preserving what was. It’s about imagining what comes next.

That’s what makes New Jedi Order such a crucial moment. It’s not just the next chapter, it’s a test. Can Star Wars stand without leaning on Luke? Can Rey, as the architect of a new Jedi era, carry that narrative weight alone? She’s not a Skywalker by blood, but she inherited the saber, the mission, and now, the silence he left behind.

And yet, the possibility of Sebastian Stan stepping into the role lingers in the cultural background. He’s not confirmed, not rumored, not even teased. But his name refuses to vanish, because fans recognize the need for a bridge.

For someone to fill in the story between Mark Hamill’s final scenes and Rey’s new beginning. If the galaxy is going to expand, it still needs gravity. And for many, Luke Skywalker still provides it, even if it’s through a different face.

Mark Hamill knew how to end it. With grace, with humor, and with the wisdom of someone who’s seen the story from both sides. But one thing is certain: the Force is still in motion.