Samuel L. Jackson says Mark Hamill and Ewan McGregor have not joined Star Wars: Episode VII

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII continues to dominate the rumor mill as expected for a movie this big. But, every new story and rumor seems to contradict the previous things we thought were a certainty. At one point we all thought it was a lock for Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford to reprise their roles from the original trilogy but now it sounds like at least one of them may not be a definite.

Bear in mind the source of this information is Samuel L. Jackson. While the man is a STAR WARS veteran who has lobbied to return as the deceased Jedi master Mace Windu, he is not exactly someone we would expect to have information on a project as guarded as STAR WARS: EPISODE VII. Nonetheless, Jackson shared what he knows during a recent appearance on THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN.

Now, I don’t take Samuel L. Jackson for a liar, but I also doubt he would share news about STAR WARS: EPISODE VII without permission from J.J. Abrams or Disney, especially if he wants back in the franchise. I trust that meeting with Mark Hamill while filming THE SECRET SERVICE for Matthew Vaughn would yield some STAR WARS talk, but would it be casually revealed on a talk show like this?

What we can assume is that even if Hamill and Ewan McGregor have not been contacted by Abrams yet, it doesn’t mean they won’t be. Logic dictates that a film as massive as STAR WARS: EPISODE VII needs to have the cast in place in advance of filming, but we don’t even have a completed script at this point. Casting calls for the leads are going on around the world so the process of casting is very much fluid.

The casting of Ewan McGregor as a ghost in the film was always a rumor at best, but I would genuinely be sad if Luke Skywalker doesn’t come back into the plot. Maybe he will be introduced in EPISODE VIII instead? Only time will tell.

STAR WARS: EPISODE VII is slated to open on December 18, 2015.