Star Wars: Episode IX director J. J. Abrams has announced the role of Luke Skywalker has been recast. Brad Dourif will be replacing franchise veteran Mark Hamill in the upcoming sequel, which is due for release at the end of the year. Because Hamill had already shot scenes for the character in the new movie, Abrams has ordered reshoots to effectively replace these scenes with a new cut featuring Dourif.
Dourif is best known to horror fans as the voice of Chucky, having played the killer doll since the original Child’s Play. Although he will continue to voice the role in an upcoming TV series from Syfy, Dourif was looking to take on some more live-action work in the near future as well. After having a lunch meeting with Walt Disney Studios and J. J. Abrams, Dourif was able to score the role of Luke Skywalker, forever changing the long-running sci-fi franchise.
“To be clear, this is strictly a business decision. We all love Mark Hamill and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Abrams said about the new casting in an official statement. “While we’re opting to go in another direction with a new actor, there was nothing wrong with Hamill’s performance. Hopefully, everyone else will be able to see it some day, perhaps as a bonus feature on a home video release.” It has since been confirmed all of the footage featuring Hamill as Luke has been destroyed.
Of course, we must be clear that nothing you’ve read in this article is actually true. This is nothing more than an April Fool’s Day joke, and Mark Hamill will definitely be playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IX. He’ll also be voicing the new Chucky in this summer’s Child’s Play as well, which hits theaters on June 21, 2019. Happy April Fool’s Day!
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