Many fans, including Mark Hamill himself (though he’s backtracked a little) were disappointed with the way Rian Johnson treated the Luke Skywalker character in The Last Jedi. Knowledge that Hamill would appear in Star Wars: Episode IX tempered that disappointment, but still left fans wondering. If Luke is truly dead, what role will he have in the final film of the Skywalker saga? Logic dictates he’ll appear in one of two ways, if not both: Force ghost, or flashback. We may now have a hint that a flashback scene, featuring Luke in his X-Wing, could indeed be possible.

x-wing
He used to bullseye womp rats back home…. (Image: Lucasfilm)

Instagram user Bespin Bulletin recently posted a series of photos depicting parts of an older model X-Wing. (Note: the post cites the source as a “user on Reddit” but did not offer more information.) Allegedly the photos come from England, presumably Pinewood Studios. You can see them here for yourself by clicking through the Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWwCELA7qz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Luke’s X-Wing to Appear in Episode IX?

Speculation is that both Luke and his iconic Star Wars starfighter could be featured in a flashback scene depicting his arrival to Ahch-To. This seems much more likely than his fighter returning from its watery grave as scene in The Last Jedi. (Plus, Luke used part of the ship’s wing to make the door to his hut… and Chewbacca pounded that into next Tuesday.)

x-wing
Sure Luke’s X-Wing survived the swamps of Degobah. I’m not so sure it survives this.
(Image: Disney/Lucasfilm)

If you enlarge the photo of the crate label in the Instagram post, it seems to confirm the fighter is at least an older X-Wing, whether it’s Luke’s or not. The set label says “TILT-A-WHIRL (T65).” T-65, as we know, is the model designation of the X-Wing fighters the Alliance flew all through the original trilogy. The “user on Reddit” also spotted an A-Wing fighter under wraps. A-Wings were featured in The Last Jedi, thus their appearance in Episode IX makes more sense.

An A-Wing streaks by the bombers in The Last Jedi. (Image: Disney/Lucasfilm)

I’m still a bit skeptical that this particular X-Wing does really belong to Luke Skywalker, however. Don’t forget: the Resistance is in shambles. They will likely be scrounging any and all ships they can get their hands on, including older models. Could this just happen to be an old X-Wing, and not Luke’s specifically?

Perhaps we’ll find out at Star Wars Celebration, when we anticipate the first Episode IX trailer to drop. Otherwise, I suppose we’ll have to wait until December!