The Mandalorian Star Didn’t Know About That Major Star Wars Cameo Until They Were on Set

The Season Two finale shocked The Mandalorian fans by featuring an unexpected cameo from Luke Skywalker, an appearance virtually no viewer saw coming, with even series star Gina Carano admitting that it was such a well-kept secret that she didn’t know until she arrived on set to film the scene the identity of the cameo. What had likely happened is that, with the episode’s credits merely describing him as “The Jedi” and without any dialogue ever seeing him directly identify himself, Carano hadn’t assumed that this character would end up being one of the most iconic heroes in cinematic history when preparing for the episode.

“So I started finding out about it in the makeup trailer, basically because you’re like, ‘Oh wait, who’s that?’” Carano shared with YouTube’s Drunk3PO. “And because they didn’t say it in the script … everyone that has worked on The Mandalorian is insane, like insane Star Wars fans. And they have the shirts and they’re like, ‘Wait a second.’ And so, everybody starts doing a little whispering.”

Earlier in Season Two, Ahsoka Tano teased that Baby Yoda, a.k.a. Grogu, needed to be trained by a Jedi, though she herself said she wouldn’t be the one to take on the task. This immediately ignited speculation from fans about who the Jedi would ultimately be, and while we couldn’t rule out Luke Skywalker, many had assumed that the series would instead introduce a lesser-known figure. Instead, both Mark Hamill and stand-in Max Lloyd-Jones collaborated to bring the character life, a feat made possible through visual effects.

Due to the number of people responsible for the sequence, even series creator Jon Favreau was nervous the cameo would be spoiled before it aired.

“It was very tricky because it’s very hard to keep a secret nowadays, especially with Star Wars, because people are so curious about it,” Favreau shared with Good Morning America. “There are so many people involved with the process, with visual effects finishing, making it, filming it, the studios, everything.”

He did note, however, that with Baby Yoda being kept a secret until the series premiered, he had faith that this secret could also be contained.

“But we started off the whole series with the Baby Yoda reveal, with the Grogu reveal, that was a secret that everybody was really blown away by,” the filmmaker confessed. “Part of that is not telling too many people, not having merchandise that’s being tooled up and announced and that kind of thing.”

A new season of The Mandalorian is expected to debut on Disney+ later this year.

Were you surprised by the appearance? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!