Mark Hamill's Hint About Luke Skywalker's Return Will Make 'Star Wars' Fans So Hopeful

The Force Ghost Luke may be strong with Star Wars: Episode IX. As Star Wars icon Mark Hamill hinted on Twitter, Luke Skywalker could return as a Force Ghost in Episode 9. If this tweet means what it seems to mean, it looks like Luke's death at the end of The Last Jedi may not not be the end for the character. If this tweet means what it seems to mean, Obi-Wan Kenobi's protégé may come back in Episode IX. But you know, in a different form. Just as many fans have suspected.

On Wednesday, May 9, Hamill tweeted a comic book illustration of Luke’s silhouette. Luke appears to be sitting on the very Ahch-To cliff where he died after fighting Kylo Ren via Force projection. The speech bubble reads, “See you around kid,” which is what Luke (er, Luke's Force projection) said to Kylo the end of The Last Jedi. “#Foreshadowing,” tweeted Hamill.

You guys. You guys. What if we are the “kid” in this tweet? What if Luke took a page out of Obi-Wan’s book and decided he was not ready to give his entire being to the Force? What if he's telling us that Luke may come back during Star Wars: Episode IX? Not as a Force sensitive mortal Jedi, but a Force sensitive ghost.

Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and, of course, Yoda have all appeared as Force Ghosts after shuffling off of some mortal coil in a galaxy far, far away. Becoming a Force Ghost isn't something that just happens to Force sensitive individuals when they die; it's a state that Force sensitive individuals have to work for.

And with great Force Ghost power comes great Force Ghost responsibility. Unlike, say, a ghost that keeps unplugging a bedside lamp at an extremely haunted bed and breakfast out of sheer boredom, a Force Ghost usually does not partake in spooky shenanigans. A Force Ghost is more about offering sage advice to a living Jedi or fighting against the Dark Side. And uh, considering Luke’s connections to known Force Ghosts Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin, it’s probably reasonable to think that he knows a thing or two about becoming a Force Ghost.

The possibility of ghost Force Luke has been in the ether ever since Luke’s death. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson told Business Insider back in December 2017 that he does not know what Star Wars: Episode IX director J.J. Abrams has in store for Skywalker, but it sure sounds like Force Ghost Luke is not not entirely impossible. Johnson said,

"I'm not sure what J.J. and [screenwriter] Chris Terrio are going to do in the next one with Luke, but setting up possibilities for the next one, honestly, it seems much like Obi-Wan going where he did after New Hope. The possibilities seemed even more exciting in terms of what Luke's place could be in the next chapter with him entering into this other realm as opposed to him having a lightsaber and being with our heroes. It opened more possibilities as opposed to fewer."

When Hamill spoke to IGN in March 2018 about the Force Ghost Luke thing, he did not offer up a scoop. He said,

"People are saying, 'are you going to be a Force Ghost in [Episode 9]?' I said, 'I really don't know. No one's really talked to me about it'. To me, I feel I had a beginning, middle and an end in the original trilogy. On [The Last Jedi], the first thing I said was, 'can't we push my death to 9?' Because now I don't have a beginning, middle and an end - I have a beginning and an end."

Judging by that "See you around kid" tweet, it seems like Hamill's character could be back for Episode 9 after all. See you around, Force Ghost.