It's hard to say goodbye to an old friend, especially if the friend's been with you since 1977. Actor Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, says that despite that infamous scene in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," he's clinging to other theories.

"I refuse to believe that he's gone," Hamill told the BBC Friday. "My theory is he just teleported to somewhere else and left his robe behind. He teleported to a nudist colony, that's what I'm hoping."

In the film, an exhausted Luke, a Jedi legend who's come so far from the Tattoine farmboy he once was, dies peacefully on Ahch-To. It's a double whammy for fans of the original cast, since actress Carrie Fisher, who played Luke's twin sister Leia, died after "Last Jedi" finished filming, and won't be in the yet-unnamed Episode IX.

Fans will get to see Hamill again on Sunday, as he'll be one of the presenters at the 2018 Academy Awards in Los Angeles, along with castmates Kelly Marie Tran and Oscar Isaac.

As for Episode IX, whether or not Luke makes some kind of (flashback? dream sequence? Force ghost?) appearance, at least fans can be rest assured the movie has a script.