Star Wars Recast Luke Skywalker Actor for The Book of Boba Fett

When Luke Skywalker made his surprising return in yesterday’s episode of The Book of Boba Fett, the character was still created using a mix of a live-action actor and some CG alterations to make him look like a younger Mark Hamill, who played Luke in six movies between 1977 and 2017. This time around, though, the actual actor on set for the role wasn’t the same guy who wielded Luke’s lightsaber in the season finale of The Mandalorian, setting up the character’s return. Actor and voice artist Graham Hamilton took on the role of Luke’s motion capture character in The Book fo Boba Fett, along with some improved de-aging and deepfake technology that makes him look more real.

The actor has appeared in NCIS, The Orville, and provided additional voices in The Last of Us Part II. He also provided the voice of an Overseer in two Dishonored games, according to his IMDb listing.

In The Mandalorian, the body of Luke was played by Max Lloyd-Jones in the episode, according to The Direct. Lloyd-Jones, who was responsible for Blue Eyes in War of the Planet of the Apes, has also appeared in a number of TV and film projects, including the 2016 Adventures in Babysitting movie. Ironically, he is credited as playing Lieutenant Reed in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 5.

Luke generated a lot of buzz this time around, getting a chance to do a lot more than he did in The Mandalorian. In addition to sharing the screen with Ahsoka Tano, Luke also told Grogu about Yoda — something that would be fresh in his memory, since this series takes place shortly after the events of The Return of the Jedi.

Per its official synopsis, “The Book of Boba Fett, a thrilling Star Wars adventure, finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.” Of course, with the return of The Mandalorian, Grogu, Luke Skywalker, and Ahsoka — as well as the live-action debut of Cad Bane — it’s hard to argue that Boba Fett is the sole (or maybe even the primary) draw of the story right now, going into the season finale next week. 

New episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are released on Disney+ on Wednesdays.