Mark Hamill and Hayden Christensen will reportedly appear in a new Star Wars movie
Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker may be having a son-and-father reunion in an upcoming Star Wars film.
Are Mark Hamill and Hayden Christensen starring in a new Star Wars movie together?
According to a new report by Giant Freakin Robot, Mark Hamill and Hayden Christensen are reprising their roles as Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker, respectively, in the recently announced Star Wars movie starring Daisy Ridley in the lead role.
The yet-to-be-titled Star Wars movie will be helmed by Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Plot details about the film are scarce, but as announced at April 2023’s Star Wars Celebration, the movie will follow Ridley’s character, Rey, as she constructs a new Jedi Order 15 years after the events of 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker.
Luke died in the 2017 movie Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi while Anakin, a.k.a. Darth Vader, passed away in the 1983 movie Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. So how will the two dead characters appear in the new movie?
Sources told Giant Freakin Robot that Luke and Anakin will appear as Force Ghosts in the new film. As Force Ghosts, the two will reportedly guide Rey as she attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order.
While the idea of seeing Hamill and Christensen appear as Force Ghosts sounds cool and exciting, some fans believe that it’s about time for the beloved sci-fi franchise to explain how Force Ghosts actually work.
As pointed out by Inside the Magic, Force Ghosts have appeared more frequently in Star Wars movies, but a number of fans feel at some point that the Jedi want to be one with the Force and no longer guide others. Also, it’s not clear why certain Jedi appear as Force Ghosts while others don’t. So if Luke and Anakin end up appearing in the movie as Force Ghosts, then that makes the film the perfect opportunity for the franchise to explore the nature of Force Ghosts.
Why is this potential reunion exciting?
Although it’s not clear yet whether Mark Hamill and Hayden Christensen will actually share a scene in the new movie, the news has raised the intriguing possibility of the son and father seeing each other face-to-face for the first time.
As long-time Star Wars fans know, both Hamill and Christensen have appeared in multiple projects set in the galaxy far, far away over the years, but both actors have never actually been in a scene together. Of course, the ex post facto insert of Christensen in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi does not count, nor does the voice cameo of the two actors at the climax of 2019’s Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.
Hamill most recently reprised his role as Luke in the Disney+ series Book of Boba Fett. Prior to that, Luke appeared via a combination of CGI, archival footage, and voicework in The Mandalorian.
Christensen, meanwhile, was last seen in the critically acclaimed series Obi-Wan Kenobi as both Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker.
Are there other upcoming Star Wars movies?
In addition to the abovementioned Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed Star Wars movie, there are three other Star Wars theatrical films in development and one Star Wars movie set to be released on Disney+:
- Untitled Taika Waititi movie: Being written and to be directed by Waititi, the movie is an origin story. Waititi, who is also likely to appear in the film, will reportedly shoot the movie in Los Angeles in 2024.
- Untitled Dave Filoni film movie: The film will conclude the story set up by The Mandalorian and its spinoff series.
- Untitled James Mangold movie: Set 25,000 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the movie is about the dawn of the Jedi.
- A Droid Story: The animated adventure film will introduce a new hero guided by R2-D2 and C-3PO. The Disney+ movie doesn’t have a release date yet.