Similar to how the late, great Carrie Fisher has and always will be synonymous with Princess Leia Organa, it’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Mark Hamill playing the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.
Hell, it’s part of the reason why people reacted in shock to the news that a small pool of fans had launched a petition calling on Lucasfilm to cast Meryl Streep as Leia for Episode IX. Mark Hamill has since renounced the petition on the belief that you simply can’t recast Leia – even if it involves an actress of Streep’s caliber – though The Last Jedi actor is pretty open to the possibility of Lucasfilm casting a young Luke Skywalker.
Per Variety:
It depends on what point in Luke’s life that you would have him be in the movie. Because at first, I’m thinking … the whole point of Luke was that he was bored silly with his life. All he was doing was bullseyeing wamp rats in his T-16.
Now, if they could do now where they have five or six plots and you’re cutting around what’s going on all around him and they keep cutting back to a really young Luke, I thought, ‘The one I love is Jacob Tremblay.’
Failing that, what about some form of digital recreation, similar to the technique used to bring back Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One? Again, Hamill is willing to consider an SFX-powered de-aging process, and told Radio Times that he’s even talked things over with his nearest and dearest.
I thought you were gonna say posthumously. Well, I already told my family ‘Absolutely – thumbs up!’ But it is a question of propriety really. I’m sure they had to go to the Cushing estate and get their permission.
Finally, Mark Hamill holds no reservations about the possibility (inevitability?) that Lucasfilm may one day cast a young Luke Skywalker, similar to how Alden Ehrenreich is about to play a wet-behind-his-ears Han Solo.
You know, it’s amazing to me – George [Lucas] gave them a canvas so large that they’re going to be able to– I mean, the possibilities are infinite. So who knows? They also ask me ‘What young actor do you think could play him?’ Sky’s the limit. And I’m sure they’re going to keep making these things long after I’m gone.
Next up for Lucasfilm’s juggernaut is the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story on May 25th, and it’s looking prettier than ever. Episode IX will follow suit in 2019, before the Powers That Be begin devoting their attention to Rian Johnson’s all-new Star Wars trilogy, which continues to pique our curiosity with every passing interview.
