Jon Favreau Reveals That Luke Skywalker Cameo Wasn’t Originally Planned In The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian is the hit show that Disney+, as well as Lucasfilm, wanted for Star Wars. It was a breath of fresh air after the

By Kunal Sharma
April 15,2021
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The Mandalorian is the hit show that Disney+, as well as Lucasfilm, wanted for Star Wars. It was a breath of fresh air after the sequel trilogy got mixed reviews. The show has aired two seasons for now and has a third season currently in production. The first season followed a non-fan-service approach where we all got introduced to new characters and a new setting. 

Jon Favreau And Luke Skywalker

But the second season went into familiar Star Wars territory with the guest appearances of multiple famous Star Wars characters. Of course, the most memorable of them all was Luke Skywalker’s appearance on the season finale. What made the cameo so great was the fact that it was absolutely unexpected but just so well-done. 

Luke-Skywalker-Mandalorian-Featured
Luke Skywalker In The Mandalorian

The use of de-ageing CGI to make an old Mark Hamill look like he just stepped off the sets of the first Star Wars movie worked wonders. So, from the reveal to the pitch-perfect appearance of Luke Skywalker, all the aspects awed fans as well as the cast members. 

Luke Skywalker CGI
Luke Skywalker CGI

Stars like Ming-Na Wen and Rosario Dawson shared their awe and excitement about this unexpected cameo. Of course, Mark Hamill was not one to sit out of his celebrations and he too commented that it was a wonder that they were able to keep this a secret for a whole year. 

But, we have come to know about something even more surprising.

Luke Skywalker’s Cameo Wasn’t Planned At The Beginning 

Jon Favreau
Jon Favreau

If the reveal surprised you, then you will be even more surprised to know that Luke’s appearance wasn’t planned right from the beginning of season 2. In fact, the showrunner of The Mandalorian Jon Favreau said that the entire cameo and the story around it came about as they were writing it. 

In a talk with The Writers Guild of America West, he was asked if the cameo from a galaxy far far away was in fact planned right from the very beginning. To that question, Favreau answered a short No before explaining that some appearances were bound to happen since the show was obviously intimately connected with the larger Star Wars universe. 

Here is his quote: 

“No. The story unfolded as I wrote it. The Mandalorian inherits a great deal from existing Star Wars stories, and when I write, that context is always a consideration. It became clear that, within the established continuity, certain things were likely to transpire.”

Jon Favreau
Jon Favreau And Lucasfilm

He also credited the appearance of Luke Skywalker to the fact that the writing crew has a lot of freedom to write the stories they want in the decades-spanning Skywalker saga. He was quoted as saying: 

“We have a tremendous amount of freedom afforded to us because of the gap in time between the films. Dave Filoni and I are in constant discussion regarding how each story choice is impacted by, and would impact, existing Star Wars material.”

 

Will More Skywalkers Show Up Next? 

The fact that Luke’s appearance wasn’t decided from the beginning and was just a storytelling choice instead of a money-grabbing ploy, just speaks volumes about Favreau’s leadership as well as the freedom The Mandalorian crew has when it comes to writing the stories they want. 

So it will not be unexpected if other Skywalkers do show up. After all, Favreau’s comment of “certain things were likely to transpire” leaves a lot of room open for such cameos. Now, if this doesn’t happen in The Mandalorian, then definitely there’s a lot of room in the spin-offs like Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka. 

Luke Skywalker And Ashoka Tano
Luke Skywalker And Ashoka Tano

Since Ahsoka has a strong Force connection so she could definitely meet up with Luke and Grogu. Hell, even Palpatine could show up. We are actually considering even a Leia Organa appearance as well. After all, she had her government duties to fulfil after the Return of the Jedi ended. 

For now, we know that there’s a huge chance that we will see Luke again, just because of the timeline of the show in the skywalker saga. However, fans still need to remember that such appearances from the movie verse will only happen if the story demands it. For example- consider season 2 with the plot point involving the search for a Jedi and how the events naturally unfolded in Luke’s appearance. 

Obviously, The Mandalorian crew has their own stories that they want to tell as well. After all, they too want to leave a mark on the Star Wars galaxy too. But they surely have left the door open for other character appearances and we for one are just hoping that we get to see more. 

Check Out: Luke Skywalker Disney+ Series Reportedly In Development