In Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2, Din Djarin embarks on a mission to reunite Grogu with the Jedi so that the adorable youngster can train in the ways of the Force and hone his abilities. It took Djarin the entire season to accomplish that task, as none other than Luke Skywalker arrives in the Season 2 finale to defeat Moff Gideon’s forces and take Grogu to his temple. Star Wars fans were thrilled to see Luke at the peak of his powers, even more so when they saw the likeness of a young Mark Hamill bringing the character to life. Rather than recast the role with a different actor, Hamill’s digitally de-aged face was placed over a body double, and Hamill’s voice was used for the dialogue. Now, Hamill shares what drew him to The Mandalorian.
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Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Hamill explained why he came back for the fan-favorite TV series. “The reason I did Mandalorian was that Luke had a beginning and an end. There was no middle,” he said, comparing it to making a trilogy of James Bond movies that ends just as he gets his license to kill. “You never got to see Luke as a Master Jedi at the peak of his powers.”
Hamill continued, “He was the most idealistic character in that series. He was someone who would take adversity and double down and come back and counter his setbacks. We didn’t see any of that. So when I got the chance, I thought, ‘Geez, this is wonderful.’ I think [Mandalorian writers and directors] Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, boy, do they get Star Wars. They get it. They’re speaking the same language that George did in a way that I questioned in the sequels.”
The Mandalorian Was Appealing for Mark Hamill After the Sequel Trilogy
Hamill has been upfront about considering Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson one of the best filmmakers he’s worked with, but most Star Wars fans know Hamill didn’t agree with the way Luke was portrayed in the sequel trilogy. He struggled grappling with the idea of Luke being a cynical old man who had given up on his friends and the Jedi religion. Hamill even came up with an incredibly dark backstory to justify why Luke would make that choice, but his ideas didn’t make it into the film.
To his credit, Hamill delivered a captivating performance as the elderly Luke — one that demonstrated a different side of his acting range. But it’s easy to see why doing something like The Mandalorian was appealing for Hamill. After his experience with the sequels, it was probably a refreshing change of pace to play the more idealistic, optimistic Luke Hamill was familiar with from his original trilogy days again. It also sounds like it was an exciting opportunity to finally play the “middle” Hamill talked about. That was probably something Hamill wanted to do for years, and the magic of modern filmmaking technology made it a reality.
Luke has obviously factored heavily in various corners of Star Wars canon, but the character’s appearances in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett fill a vital on-screen gap that fleshes out his story. Though some have criticized the shows’ utilization of CGI and other digital tricks to portray Luke (see: his robotic-sounding voice), it’s still fascinating to see what Luke was up to in the New Republic era, attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order. This was something the sequels could only allude to since they were set at a time when Luke’s temple had long been destroyed. Actually seeing it is a treat for longtime Star Wars fans.
It’ll be interesting to see if Luke appears in a future project. Lucasfilm continues to explore the New Republic era, with Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 2 currently in production and Dave Filoni developing a film that will serve as a culmination of these storylines. With Grand Admiral Thrawn now back in the main Star Wars galaxy, it would be very strange if a noble hero like Luke didn’t offer to help in the fight. Perhaps there will be a small role for Hamill in Star Wars again — even if he feels it’s time for the franchise to focus more on newer characters.
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Image courtesy of Netflix -
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
