The Mandalorian: Why Did Dave Filoni Make Luke Skywalker Revert Back To The Old Jedi Ways?

Luke Skywalker is a man who understands the importance of familial love. So why did Dave Filoni still make him give Grogu that harsh choice?

By Ishita Chatterjee
December 24,2022
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In season 2 of The Mandalorian, Luke Skywalker trains Grogu in his fledgling Jedi Academy. There he gives Grogu a choice. Either he can choose the path of a Jedi, or he can go with Din to essentially follow the way of a Mandalorian. While Grogu chose the latter option, many fans thought it was odd that Luke Skywalker made Grogu choose between duty and family. After all, he should have been the last person to do so. He knows how important the bond between a father and son can be. So why did Luke make Grogu choose? Why did Dave Filoni make Luke do that? We explore this question again before The Mandalorian season 3’s release.

Why Did Dave Filoni Make Luke Skywalker So Uncaring?

Dave Filoni
Dave Filoni

In the “Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian” special, The Mandalorian’s writer and director Dave Filoni explained that Qui-Gon is the only one who understands that Jedis should love and care. He doesn’t think that it’s a bad thing. Filoni also explained that Luke Skywalker made a conscious choice to show love to his father. He said:

“The only thing that’s gonna save him (Luke) is not his connection to the force, it’s not the powers he’s learned, it’s not all these things that are an advantage to him… what saves Luke is his ability to look at all that, and look at his father and say ‘No, I’m gonna throw away this weapon. I’m not gonna do that. I’m gonna let that go and be selfless’. And he says, ‘I am a Jedi, like my father before me.’ But what’s he really saying is ‘I love my father, and there’s nothing you can do that’s gonna change that.'”

Luke Skywalker’s compassion and love for his father made Anakin whole again after Qui-Gon’s death destabilized his life. So, essentially he is carrying on Qui-Gon’s legacy to show compassion and forgiveness. Dave Filoni, who directed The Mandalorian episode where Luke Skywalker makes Grogu choose, understands the powerful bond between a father and son well. So why did he still make Luke do something that doesn’t align with his character arc perfectly?

The answer is probably because Luke Skywalker is still figuring his teaching style out. He intrinsically understands the importance of familial bonds. However, he may be having doubts over whether to incorporate that in his teaching style and go against Jedi traditions or not.

Will He Change In Season 3 Of The Mandalorian?

Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker

He may. Luke changing his teaching style might be the overarching plan Filoni has in mind for him. However, one also has to wonder how Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau will tie that with the events of the Sequel Trilogy. After all, in the Sequel Trilogy, we saw that he had retreated from fighting and was in hiding. So Luke Skywalker’s character arc is a mess that will have to be entangled carefully.

Also, this brings the question of whether the Sequel Trilogy will remain canon or not. After all, rumors are flying about Kathleen Kennedy departing Lucasfilm soon. So it remains to be seen how the Luke Skywalker issue gets handled.

Stay tuned for more updates.