Star Wars has just proved why Mark Hamill had to return as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian. Hamill’s Luke appearing in The Mandalorian season 2 was one of the biggest and best surprises of the Disney Star Wars era. The Jedi came to take Grogu away for training, in a scene that simultaneously felt bigger than the show and yet perfectly in keeping with (and in service of) its story.
That Hamill returned as Luke (via de-aging technology) still feels both remarkable and surreal. So too does the fact Lucasfilm managed to prevent it from leaking alongside other casting news, such as Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, which in part was thanks to tricks like mock-up images and visual effects showing Plo Koon’s head on Luke’s body. Still, not everyone was enamoured with Hamill’s comeback, with complaints regarding the somewhat uncanny valley appearance (in particular with how the mouth didn’t quite sync up), and that the role should’ve been recast (with, say, Sebastian Stan).
It’s true that the effects for Hamill’s return aren’t perfect, and that’s a consequence of him being brought back. At the same time, it’s also clear that it was the worth the trade off for what bringing Hamill back meant, something made even more apparent by Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 2, episode 2, “Making of Season 2 Finale.” The episode is a dive into what it took to make Hamill’s return as Luke happen, but also showcases the importance of it. The ultimate takeaway is a reminder that Hamill is Luke Skywalker, and that any return without his involvement, even if it might have looked better, would not have felt right.
It’s clear that bringing Hamill back was hugely important to the show’s creators, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. Both speak with great reverence for both the actor and the character he has played for over 40 years. Hamill helped to shape the character and, even if he wasn’t the actor seen in the final product, him being on set and performing the movements and lines, and teaching stand-in Max Lloyd-Jones how to be Luke, were ultimately key in selling the character’s return and ensuring viewers saw the Jedi Master, not a pale imitation.
Moreover, Hamill’s return as Luke was also a visibly emotional experience for everyone involved. It was for those making the show, and for the actor himself, who thought any chance of playing the character at his Jedi peak was long gone. But as the documentary shows, those feelings don’t just exist in isolation. The reverberate across everything else, and so all of the build-up to Luke appearing leads to a heightened sense of emotion when he does appear. Because it’s Hamill (at least in part, and certainly in spirit) then it means the essence and heart of Luke Skywalker is there on screen.
The visuals and de-aging for Luke/Hamill not be perfect, but the emotion and feeling is, and that’s far more important in the scene. That comes from Hamill coming back and investing in it, and from what it meant to him and those making it, because then viewers get to experience all of that too, and it’s a rare shared experience between cast, crew, and fans that serves the story but extends far beyond it in terms of impact. That wouldn’t happen with a simple digital recreation or a recasting. Hamill in The Mandalorian wasn’t perfect, but it was still better than many Star Wars fans would've dared dream.
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