Luke Skywalker’s time at the center of the Star Wars galaxy doesn’t seem to be finished just yet. The Jedi Knight’s role has been expanding ever since The Mandalorian Season 2 finale, even showing up in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6.His first appearance in The Mandalorian teased a more significant role in the future. Din Djarin tells Grogu that they’ll see each other again right before the child is taken away by Luke, so if a reunion was going to happen between the two, it seemed logical and fitting that Skywalker would be there as well. Despite Djarin and Grogu not actually coming face to face in Chapter 6, their story certainly doesn’t seem to end there, and the same can be said about Luke. Here’s why Luke Skywalker could be about to get his own Disney+ series.Technology-wise, it certainly seems as if Lucasfilm has the potential to make a live-action series centered around a CG character. Lucasfilm and ILM used innovative new ways to bring a younger Luke back to live action, beginning in The Mandalorian. As highlighted by Disney Gallery: The Making of The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale, a deepfake technique was utilized to recreate the face of Luke Skywalker from the Return of the Jedi era. Mark Hamill filmed the scenes in character, as did stand in Max Lloyd-Jones.
With deep fakes popular among fans at the moment, using this technology to bring Luke back was more obvious to fans than the recreation of the character's iconic voice. Sound designer Matthew Wood revealed in the documentary that they uploaded thousands of hours of Mark Hamill speaking, in interviews and in Star Wars films, to an algorithm that then produced Luke’s lines in The Mandalorian. The technology is bound to continue to improve as well, making a project like a young Luke series now possible.Improve it did, and this was even more evident in Chapter 6 of The Book of Boba Fett. In just over a year since Luke’s first CG appearance, the Jedi Knight arguably looks even better than in his first display. There’s more facial expression, emotion, and Luke looks almost identical to his Return of the Jedi appearance. It was almost as if a 35-year-old Mark Hamil somehow returned and filmed scenes for this show. There are times when it’s hard to tell that technology is even being used, highlighting how far it’s come in such a short space of time. With the technology constantly evolving, a Luke series could be the next show in the ever-expanding Mandalorian universe.If Luke was to get his own series, the story would become the primary point in question. In Legends, the now un-canon set of stories home to many characters still revered by some in the Star Wars fandom, Luke had near endless adventures around the galaxy. He restarted the Jedi Order and got married Mara Jade, one of these popular Legends characters among Star Wars fans to this day. Luke even fell to the dark side, a controversial turning point given some fans’ reaction to the character’s initial disdain for the Jedi in the Sequel Trilogy, before being redeemed in a way much like his father.In fact, while on the dark side, Luke even became the apprentice of Emperor Palpatine, who returned from the dead using clone bodies (a plot point later adapted in The Rise of Skywalker). There was also the Yuuzahn Vong Invasion, in which a group of villainous aliens from the unknown regions, reminiscent of other sci-fi franchises like Star Trek, reign down on the New Republic and start a war, with Luke once again in the center of the conflict. Star Wars has begun to introduce elements of Legends into canon, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, so it’s possible that Favreau and Filoni refer to older, now de-canonized stories for inspiration.Perhaps the most likely story for a potential Luke-centered show could be the beginnings of his Jedi Academy. As mentioned, there’s a precedent in Legends for this plotline, and fans know from The Last Jedi that Luke had a small Jedi Order before Snoke’s meddling with Ben Solo abruptly put a halt to that. Luke’s padawans were killed, and the Jedi Knight retreated in shame. The Rise of Kylo Ren, a comic series that detailed the son of Han and Leia’s fall to the dark side, furthered this aspect of the story by revealing that Ben Solo wasn’t actually responsible for the death of the padawans and fire at the temple.Regardless, a Luke series could give fans a look at the beginnings of a series of monumental events in the character’s life, and perhaps with some famous co-stars as well. Grogu would almost certainly appear, but there’s room for even more as well. A young Ben Solo is around at this time, so the series could highlight the beginnings of his training as a Jedi. In canon, Luke often communicated with Force ghosts after the Original Trilogy, including his own father. With Hayden Christensen confirmed to reprise his beloved role as a Force ghost in the Ahsoka series, an Anakin appearance in a potential Luke show doesn’t seem entirely out of the question.
The Book of Boba Fett’s latest episode saw Grogu given a choice, to either go back with Din Djarin or stay with Luke and become a Jedi. If he does indeed choose the path of a Jedi Padawan, Grogu would be Luke’s first apprentice, making this the most obvious path forward for a potential show. It would give Disney the ability to keep two of their most marketable and beloved characters at the forefront of the Star Wars brand, and would leave plenty of room for cameos, appearances, and the interconnectivity between shows that they’re set on.More broadly, the Sequel Trilogy explored the original trio of Luke, Han, and Leia at an older age, with only the latter still active in the Rebellion, making new characters at the center rather than the original trio. Accompanied by his old friend Chewbacca, Han had gone back to smuggling, and Luke exiled himself on Ahch-To. In a way, the latest trilogy in the Skywalker Saga served as a response to not only the original films, but as an aftermath to the events in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens as well. With some crucial events appearing largely off-screen, a Luke series could fill in the gaps between the films and strengthen the overall narrative of the sequels, just as The Clone Wars arguably improved the prequels substantially. Not only is there potential for the story going in this direction, but it seems as if The Mandalorian and its related shows are already delving deep into Star Wars lore to create a story that combines elements from all three Skywalker Saga trilogies.If they were to show the aftermath of the destruction of Luke’s academy, the show could then answer the question on fans’ minds ever since The Mandalorian finale: was Grogu still a student of Luke’s when this happened and, if so, did he make it out alive? It would require a time jump or story progression to move to this point in the timeline, but it’s certainly plausible, particularly as the popularity of these Star Wars series continues to hit new levels, making it unlikely that this Mandalorian mini-universe will end any time soon.With so many characters getting their own series, and Luke Skywalker still holding so much importance to the story, now might be the time for the Jedi Knight to get his own Disney+ series.