The Real Face Behind Luke Skywalker, And No It’s Not Sebastian Stan

Well… how about that season finale, am I right?

Season two of The Mandalorian continues its streak of bringing back fan-favorite Star Wars characters with a surprise appearance by Luke Skywalker, swooping in just in time to save Din Djarin and the gang. In the end, Luke takes Grogu with him to continue his Jedi training, but not before a heartfelt goodbye between Din and Grogu. (I’m not crying, you are!)

But let’s back up a second. How did Luke find the location of the ship? Why is Mark Hamill credited for the appearance? What does Sebastian Stan have to do with any of this? And how happy do you think Boba Fett was when he found out he just missed running into Luke again?

In episode six of the season, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy," Din Djarin takes Grogu to the planet Tython, at the advice of Ahsoka Tano, so that Grogu can tap into the Force. The hope was that another Jedi master would sense Grogu and come to continue his training. Though Moff Gideon's forces captured Grogu before we could have any confirmation about whether the plan worked, that didn’t stop fans from speculating who could possibly respond to Grogu’s calls.

Well, all speculation ended when a lone X-wing starfighter flew into Moff Gideon’s ship at the end of “Chapter 16: The Rescue”. It turned out that Luke Skywalker was the Jedi who made the connection with Grogu. And now that Grogu was fully linked to the Force, Luke was able to track him down. Luke Skywalker walks through the doors of the bridge, removes his hood, and we see… Mark Hamill! Well, sort of.

Since The Mandalorian takes place only five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the version of Luke in this episode would of course have to be around the same age as he was in the film. No offense to the great Mark Hamill, but he doesn’t necessarily retain his physical resemblance to his younger self. Still, his credit appears at the end of the episode, so how did the filmmakers do it?

It seems like Lucasfilm is continuing to utilize their VFX characters and de-aging technology. The technology was first notably highlighted in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with CGI appearances of Grand Moff Tarkin and Leia Organa in the likeness of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher respectively. The use of the technology continued in The Rise of Skywalker with another appearance of a young Leia training with a young Luke.

So by the time the idea of having Luke Skywalker show up in the season finale of The Mandalorian, the technology to make it happen was already being utilized. Mark Hamill even stepped into the booth to voice this version of his character. But that still left a missing piece of the equation: who would be portraying Luke Skywalker in body?

Before knowing that VFX would be Lucasfilm’s solution to bring the Jedi back to live-action, many fans were hoping to see actor Sebastian Stan portray the character, who is (I doubt I have to tell you this but just in case...) best known for his portrayal as the Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These calls came after a photoshopped image of Stan as the character circulated the internet years ago, pointing out the uncanny resemblance between him and young Mark Hamill.

However, this particular fancast has yet to come to fruition. Instead, Lucasfilm cast Max Lloyd-Jones in the role. Lloyd-Jones is best known for his roles in the series Switched at Birth and The Sandlot 2, also making appearances in Once Upon A Time and iZombie. Lloyd-Jones is no stranger to the VFX doubling that he had to do on The Mandalorian, as he played the role of Blue Eyes in War for the Planet of the Apes, working with the motion capture team on that set.

There are some pointing out that Lloyd-Jones also shares some resemblance to a young Mark Hamill, no doubt helping the VFX team smooth over the seams between the two likenesses. Still, if Lucasfilm ever decides to recast a younger version of Luke Skywalker outright, they might have a good candidate.

What did you think of this special appearance by Luke Skywalker as well as the way Lucasfilm decided to do it? Do you see a future for Max Lloyd-Jones or even Sebastian Stan in the Star Wars universe?

Season two of The Mandalorian is streaming exclusively on Disney+.

Written By Tyre Francis

Syndicated From Culture Slate