What Will Happen To Luke In 'Episode VIII'?

Fans who spend a large portion of their days worrying about the fates of important Star Wars characters (hi, me), were not happy to to hear Mark Hamill hint at the possibility that Luke Skywalker might die in Star Wars: Episode VIII. According to The Wrap, at The Big Issue event in London, Hamill reportedly said, “I finish ‘Episode VIII,’ and then I’m out of work.” Did you hear it? The roar of a million Star Wars fans heard 'round the world. But don't freak out just yet. On Monday, the actor tweeted a clarification. He wrote, “I meant ‘out of work’ because #Ep8 is wrapping soon, OK?” Clearly us fans are a little sensitive after (HUGE spoilers for Episode VII) we lost Han Solo. But, even though Hamill shed some light on the meaning of his comment, it still doesn't totally count out the possibility that the Jedi won't make it out alive when Star Wars: Episode VIII hits theaters December 2017. I know, I know, pretty dark, but we can't totally rule it out. So, does Luke Skywalker die in Star Wars: Episode VIII ?

Just because Hamill basically told us to calm the hell down (#Don'tOverThinkEVERYTHING #ParsingHamill #WaitForVIII are the hashtags he used to cap his tweet), does not mean Skywalker won't be gone for good after Episode VIII. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but it's possible even Hamill doesn't know the fate of his character. Which means he can't be trusted. (In fact, at this stage in the game, TRUST NO ONE.)

In the third act of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, one of the most recognizable characters in the franchise — and honestly the entire world — was killed. And by his own son, no less. Sure, fans had been expecting Han Solo to be killed off for decades. At the time Return of the Jedi came out, rumors began swirling that Harrison Ford wanted his character to die. Earlier this year, he confirmed those rumors on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "I asked him to ask the writers to kill me off, because I thought that it would be good that the character who appeared to have not so much of a complex interweaving with the theme of the Force and all that good stuff. I thought it would be good for the character, if he sacrificed himself in some noble way."

Noble sacrifice always felt like something that would fall under Luke's storyline, and now that they've done it with Han, there's no telling who could be next. There's a silver living though: Luke's presence seems to be incredibly important to the way Star Wars will continue to move forward. Luke didn't show up in The Force Awakens until the last few minutes, but there's no doubt in my mind that he'll have to be a huge part of the next installment. He's presumably training Rey, and if you believe the hype that he might be her biological father, then you better believe that relationship will be a massive driving force behind the plot.

What I'm saying is, we kind of really need Luke right now, in a way that we didn't really need Han Solo anymore (I know, I'm sorry, it still hurts me too). Maybe this means that his fate won't be dire. Maybe Luke and Rey and everyone can have a happy ending and it will all be great and no one will ever die again ever.

OK, that's probably not realistic at all, but just let me have this moment. Thank you.

Images: Lucasfilm/Walt Disney; Giphy (2)