4 years after his famous return inThe Mandalorianseason 2 finale, I’ve changed my mind aboutLuke Skywalker’s surprise cameo. EveryStar Warsfan remembers where they were whenLuke appeared inThe Mandalorian, arriving just in time to save our heroes - most notably Grogu. This moment was extremely emotional for all audiences, from the return of the galaxy’s most renowned hero to the goodbye that was exchanged between Din Djarin and Grogu in the midst of it all. With these emotions running high, it was impossible to escape the excitement and the hype.
Now that I’ve had 4 years to sit with it, however, I don’t feel the same excited way I used to about Luke showing up in this season finale. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for what the creative team behindThe Mandaloriandid, as I know what a labor of love it was to maintain the secret and to bring such an iconic hero to life. In the grand scheme of things, though, I can’t help thinking that Luke may have been the wrong choice for this, and that perhaps this surprise should have been saved for another time.
Luke Skywalker Was Presented As An Untouchable Legend, Not Like Himself
The De-Aging Technology Did Him No Favors
One of the biggest difficulties of bringing Luke to life in modern titles likeThe Mandalorianis that, withoutStar Wars’willingness to recast with a younger actor, he has to be digitally recreated.This digitized element alone makes Luke seem like a more robotic version of himself, especially with the techniques they have to employ to ensure that the digital recreation will function properly. This, along with the audio created from Mark Hamill’s face in the original trilogy, makes Luke seem almost non-human.
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This is made worse by the fact that the circumstances of Luke’s arrival on Moff Gideon’s light cruiser also make him seem like an untouchable savior.Rather than acting the way he would in the original trilogy, Luke maintains distance from the other characters in a multitude of ways, and his presence supersedes the entire story. He doesn’t appear to show any empathy for Din Djarin, who’s struggling at the idea of saying goodbye to the child who he’s come to love as a son, and vice versa for Grogu. He’s overall portrayed as a legend rather than a person.
Luke’s Cameo Completely Overshadowed The Rest Of The Episode
Even The Emotional Goodbye Took A Hit
Because Luke was presented as this iconicStar Warslegend, his presence completely overshadowed everything else that happened in that episode.You can ask just about anyone aboutThe Mandalorianseason 2 finale, and I can almost guarantee that the first thing they’ll talk about - and maybe even the only thing - is Luke making an appearance, despite the fact this happens in the last few minutes of the finale. The rest of the episode includes a duel for theDarksaberand an emotional goodbye between father and son, but that’s completely swallowed up by Luke.
I was literally in tears grieving that emotional goodbye, and all the while, everyone was celebrating. I won’t blame them for that, but it was an odd contrast.
Every year on the anniversary of the episode, this gets worse and worse. People will herald this episode as nothing more than “the return of Luke Skywalker”, though at least the goodbye between Din and Grogu is usually acknowledged as well. For me, however, what proves just how overshadowed this episode became by Luke is how I remember things happening back when the episode first aired. I was literally in tears grieving that emotional goodbye, and all the while, everyone was celebrating. I won’t blame them for that, but it was an odd contrast.
I Think Luke’s Mandalorian Cameo May Have Done More Harm Than Good
His Story Isn’t Really Better Off Now
Ultimately, in the long run, I’m not sure if it was the right decision to even have this Luke cameo in the first place.Star Warsmay have bitten off more than it could chew when it came to Luke, as having him be the one to take and train Grogu put them in a tough spot as far as continuing Luke’s story goes. This wasn’t a problem inThe Mandaloriannecessarily, but it certainly was in the spin-off TV showThe Book of Boba Fett.
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Luke’s time with Grogu was extremely rushed in just a single episode of that show (which certainly didn’t even belong in the first place, given the TV show’s title focusing on the bounty hunter), andbecause of how the story was meant to go, Luke’s character again felt oddly unlike himself. He presented Grogu with a choice between the Jedi way and his father, which, for a character who abandoned his own training early to save his friends and loved ones, didn’t feel very organic. I certainly wasn’t convinced, and it unfortunately hurts Luke’s character to a degree.
Luke is too iconic and too revered of a character to do any light work with. That’s why I worry about Luke’s cameo inThe Mandalorianseason 2 the farther we get from it. As one of the biggest fans ofThe Mandalorianout there, I’m just not sure that this massive appearance was the right call - but I’m willing for the future ofStar Warsto prove me wrong, should it seek to.
The Mandalorian
Cast
Released on July 23, 2025 The Mandalorian follows a lone gunfighter navigating the galaxy’s outer reaches after the Galactic Empire’s fall. As a skilled bounty hunter, he operates in a lawless universe, undertaking various missions on the fringes of the New Republic’s territories.
