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‘Star Wars Episode 9’ Rumors: Why the New Luke Skywalker Leak Is Total Bull

One of the biggest questions surround Star Wars: Episode IX is what role Luke Skywalker will play. We know he died at the end of Episode VIII but we also know that Mark Hamill will appear in Episode IX. There’s been plenty of rumors and speculation on what that could mean, from a Force ghost of Luke to a flashback scene, but a new leak claims to reveal exactly how Hamill will return to Star Wars — unfortunately, it’s total bull.

(Find out why Darth Vader will totally return in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ as a Force ghost in the video up top.)

The latest Star Wars: Episode IX rumor worming its way through the internet comes from none other than Mike Zeroh, a YouTuber who’s made a name for himself revealing sensational but totally fake Star Wars leaks. Here’s his latest (via Express):

Luke Skywalker in front of Rey on a jungle world. In the background are ancient stone steps that lead to some rooms which appear to be a Jedi Temple of some kind. Luke appears to be in his physical form as if he is not dead, but he may be a Force ghost and more solid this time. No blue hue is described in the sequence. Luke holds his iconic green lightsaber hilt in his hand but not ignited as Rey examines it. This could be one of Luke’s lessons to Rey, teaching her how to develop a lightsaber like his own. Luke’s face has no beard and shorter hair - shorter than his hair on Crait. He wears a brown robe with white sleeves.

The sad thing here is that the scene described above sounds totally awesome. Luke returning as a projected Force ghost (like at the end of Last Jedi) to help Rey make a new lightsaber after her old one broke? Heck yeah!

But beyond the fact that Zeroh is extremely unreliable, there’s another big flaw with this theory. It assumes that when Luke projected himself into the final battle in Episode VIII he was already dead and basically acting as an extra-powerful Force ghost. However, based on Hamill’s own statements we know that probably isn’t the case.

The actor previously suggested on Twitter that what caused Luke’s death was the act of using the Force to project himself across the galaxy, comparing it to a long-sober drug addict overdosing during a relapse.

Hamill makes it extremely clear that not only did using the Force kill Luke, but he only did it once after years of going “cold-turkey.” That means the act of projecting himself into battle to save the Resistance was the act that killed him. So it couldn’t have been a Force ghost from beyond the grave.

Why does this matter? Because it explains why Luke won’t be able to create the same projection we saw in Episode VIII now that he’s dead. At the very best, you can probably expect some sort of shiny, transparent ghost version Luke to appear in Episode IX — assuming Lucasfilm doesn’t have an even bigger surprise up its sleeve.

Star Wars: Episode IX hits theaters on December 20, 2019.

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