Mark Hamill talks Star Wars: Episode VII, VIII and IX

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And reports suggest that the trilogy won't be based on existing material

Star Wars: Episode VII was announced yesterday as part of the Disney/Lucasfilm deal , and Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, has announced that George Lucas told him about the new trilogy last year.

Hamill spoke to EW after the news broke, confirming that Lucas had told him and Carrie Fisher that Kathleen Kennedy would be taking charge of Episodes VII , VIII and IX .

“I had no idea that George was going to sell to Disney until I read it online like everybody else,” he explained.

“He did tell us last summer about wanting to go on and do [Episodes] VII , VIII , and IX , and that [ newly appointed Lucasfilm president ] Kathleen Kennedy would be doing them.”

Going into more detail on his meeting with Lucas, Hamill added, “Yeah, last August, he asked Carrie and I to have lunch with him and we did. I thought he was going to talk about either his retirement or the Star Wars TV series that I’ve heard about [ that takes place between Episodes III and IV] or the 3-D releases.

“So when he said, 'We decided we’re going to do Episodes VII , VIII , and IX ,' I was just gobsmacked. 'What? Are you nuts?!' [ Laughs ] I can see both sides of it.

“I’m anxious to know what’s going on, but the main story [ yesterday ] was the sale to Disney. I have mixed feelings about that, but they haven’t done badly by Marvel and the Muppets and Pixar. It’s one of those big decisions that at first seems unusual but then the more you look at it, the more it makes sense.”

Apparently Lucas didn’t give the actor any idea about the plot, and didn’t confirm if Hamill would be asked to reprise his role as Luke Skywalker: “He was just talking about writers and the fact that he wouldn’t be directing. I guess he wanted us to know before everybody else knew. He said, 'Now you can’t tell anybody!' [ Laughs ] Even now I’m nervous about saying anything. I just don’t know!”

It’s impossible to gauge where the story will go at this stage, with a Lucasfilm source telling E! that the new trilogy will not be based on any existing material - so don’t go looking at those spin-off novels for plot spoilers.

We'd like to think Hamill and Fisher will be involved in the new trilogy though, even if it’s only in a torch-passing cameo capacity.

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.