While Lucasfilm and Mark Hamill have been doing a pretty good job of keeping the biggest Star Wars: Episode IX secrets under wraps, the Luke Skywalker actor may have revealed one little detail about his character’s upcoming return.
In a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Hamill discussed his experience on the set of Knightfall. And when the subject of his character’s glorious beard came up, the actor made the following claim:
“They glued the beard on over my own beard. I had to keep the beard for something else.”
At this point, Kimmel jumped in to ask if the “something else” referred to was actually the next Star Wars film, and though Hamill chose to play dumb (“Which movie?”), he did mention that a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from saying anything.
While the question of whether Luke will or won’t have facial hair in Episode IX has hardly been keeping fans up at night, the suggestion that the character might still have his beard from The Last Jedi may fuel the theory that Hamill will be reprising his role via Force Ghost, rather than flashback. After all, a clean-shaven face could be an obvious visual indicator that the film is exploring a different point in Luke’s life, perhaps before his days as a hermit on Ahch-To. A beard, on the other hand, would make sense if Luke’s scenes were picking up where The Last Jedi left off.
Of course, this is still just speculation for the time being, though hopefully we’re no more than a few weeks away from seeing some actual footage from the film at this year’s Star Wars Celebration. But regardless of what the next month has to offer, all will be revealed when Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20th, 2019.