Star Wars 9: Why beardless Mark Hamill is still likely to appear as Luke Force ghost

The Star Wars veteran returned last Christmas for The Last Jedi, splitting fans when it came to his portrayal as the reclusive hermit on Ahch-To.

And while he became one with the Force, fans are still hopeful he will return in Episode IX as a Force ghost.

However yesterday Hamill shared a picture of himself on Twitter with a shaved face, concerning many he wouldn’t be back since Luke now sports a beard in the films.

However there are a few reasons why he most likely will be back for Star Wars 9.

Firstly Episode IX only just starts shooting this summer and presumably a Force ghost appearance would just be a cameo.

Darth Maul’s tiny surprise role in Solo was shot in January of this year, just a few months before the film was released.

So that would be plenty of time for Hamill to regrow his facial fuzz.

If anything being clean-shaven now might be a way of misdirecting fans so they’re surprised by a Luke cameo in Episode IX.

Another reason could be that his Force ghost would be a digitally de-aged Luke to how he looked in the original trilogy.

This would tie-in with the younger Anakin Force ghost, played by Hayden Christensen from the prequel trilogy, seen at the conclusion of Return of the Jedi.

Anakin’s was changed to his younger form in the updated version of the film to show he was redeemed before his death, appearing as how he looked before turning to the Dark Side as Darth Vader.

Similarly Luke was in a bad place in The Last Jedi and a younger Force ghost would show him at his most positive and hopeful.

And lastly, it would be a real shame for Hamill not to return as a Force ghost.

The late Carrie Fisher was supposed to be the main original trilogy character of Episode IX before her sudden death in 2016.

And while Billy Dee Williams’ Lando is set to return, a nod to a more prominent original trilogy figure would be a nice touch.

Plus Episode IX isn’t just concluding the sequel trilogy, but the entire Skywalker saga, so we’ve got to have a member of the family in there somewhere.

Star Wars Episode IX is released in UK cinemas on December 19, 2019.