Disney cast Robert Boulter as young Luke Skywalker for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so why didn't they bring back the actor for The Mandalorian?
A different actor had already been cast to play young Luke Skywalker, so why didn't Lucasfilm bring him in for The Mandalorian season 2 finale? Star Wars' first live-action series wrapped up its second year with an intense final episode that ended with the surprise cameo from the legendary Jedi. Using the de-aging technology that was previously used in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and most recently, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mark Hamill was able to reprise the role.
Din Djarin assembled his team of allies to rescue Baby Yoda, a.k.a. Grogu, from Moff Gideon, who had abducted him in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6 titled "The Tragedy." Following an elaborate plan to secure Grogu, Mando ultimately reunited with his foster son, but their reunion didn't last long as Luke came in to pick up the Child and train him with the Force. As it turned out, the Baby Yoda's Force vergence in Tython worked and he was able to call out to other Jedi who could help hone his abilities as suggested by Ahsoka Tano.
Luke's appearance on The Mandalorian came as a massive surprise, but admittedly, not everyone was a fan of his cameo. There are valid criticisms about how his involvement ultimately took away from this pivotal moment in Din and Baby Yoda's story. Instead of discussions being focused on Pedro Pascal's incredible acting or how this separation changes the course of The Mandalorian moving forward, the biggest takeaway from the season 2 finale was Luke's unexpected arrival – or how bad de-aged Luke looked. There are limitations to what the technology can do, but Lucasfilm could've gone a different route by bringing in an actor they'd already previously cast to play young Luke Skywalker in Robert Boulter, who had previously been cast to play the character for a planned Star Wars: The Force Awakens cameo. As revealed in a piece of concept art for the film, the actor was supposed to appear as young Luke during Rey's Force vision. This proves that Disney and Lucasfilm aren't totally averse to recasting their legacy characters. So why not just tap Boulter to finally play Luke considering they'd already cast him in the role for a different project, anyway?
There are a couple of reasons why Lucasfilm ultimately decided against doing this. While it's uncertain why Boulter's cameo was scrapped, the fact of the matter remains that it was something that they could afford to edit out of the film. Second, and more importantly, Lucasfilm was badly burned when they attempted to cast Alden Ehrenreich as young Han Solo in Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story. It didn't matter that Ehrenreich did a good job capturing the charm and bravado of the galactic smuggler in his younger years, most of the fan community wasn't thrilled with the idea and it reflected in the film's box office haul. This may have made Lucasfilm more careful when recasting legacy characters, opting to go with an uncanny valley-looking young version of them instead of risking recasting backlash.
It's uncertain if young Luke will ever appear on The Mandalorian or in other planned spin-offs around the same timeframe. It's safe to assume Baby Yoda will eventually reunite with Din in the future, so there are ways for the fan-favorite hero to make another cameo. If Lucasfilm attempts to do it again, they should polish up the de-aging CGI on Hamill as viewers may not be as forgiving for his rough appearance as they were with the season 2 finale.
