Warning: Major spoilers ahead for The Book of Boba Fett episode 6. Turn back now if you haven’t seen the latest episode on Disney Plus!
The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 brought with it some major cameos, from Ahsoka Tano to Cad Bane, and even Baby Yoda, AKA Grogu. One character in particular, though, returned with the help of some CGI de-aging wizardry. That’s right, Luke Skywalker is back.
While the episode’s version of Luke looked like Return of the Jedi-era Mark Hamill had strolled right out of a time machine, there was in fact someone else standing in for the character. Much like in The Mandalorian season 2 finale, bringing Luke to the screen is a joint effort this time round, too.
In the credits, Hamill’s name is displayed over some concept art of Luke and Grogu – and later, Graham Hamilton is listed as Performance Artist – Jedi, while Scott Lang is Stunt Double – Jedi. It’s unclear at the moment how exactly the whole process worked, but if it’s anything like The Mandalorian, the actors would have performed their scenes, then a technological process involving de-aging and Deepfake would produce what we eventually see on screen, complete with a wholly digital voice.
Previously, the stand-in for Luke was Max Lloyd-Jones – while it seems he no longer plays Skywalker, he did have a cameo in The Book of Boba Fett episode 5 as a New Republic X-Wing pilot.
There’s a clear improvement in Luke’s appearance from The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett, too, which could be down to Lucasfilm hiring Shamook, the deep fake YouTuber who created his own version of the de-aged Jedi.
Depending on how Baby Yoda’s big choice goes, we could be seeing Luke deliver the Child back to Din Djarin in The Book of Boba Fett episode 7, but whether the Jedi shows up again in The Mandalorian season 3 remains to be seen.
In the meantime, to find out when the season finale drops on Disney Plus in your time zone, see our The Book of Boba Fett release schedule – and for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store for us, check out our ultimate guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.