Do you trust Samuel L. Jackson? The actor appeared on David Letterman last night and during the now regular grilling concerning the Star Wars franchise, Jackson revealed that he spoke to Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, who told him that J.J. Abrams was yet to contact him about reprising the role for 2015’s hotly-anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII.
This is one of many rumours surrounding the return of the original cast, with Hamill said to have been contacted before Abrams was even announced as director (in fact George Lucas reportedly met with both Hamill and Carrie Fisher prior to selling Lucasfilm to Disney).
Should Hamill not return, this may be a result of the recent change in scriptwriting duties with Michael Arndt (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) replaced by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi). Perhaps Skywalker has died in the years following Jedi?
In truth, it would be an interesting arc for Star Wars: Episode VII if Skywalker was absent, but this is just a rumour at present so take it as you will.