Luke Skywalker's appearance in The Mandalorian was kept a secret, and the team behind the show went to great lengths in order to do so - including an image with his head replaced by that of Plo Koon. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in The Mandalorian season 2 finale was the show's biggest surprise since the reveal of a "Baby Yoda," now known as Grogu, in the premiere episode. While there had been some theories that Luke would come for Grogu eventually, it wasn't until it happened that most viewers actually believed it.

What helped make the twist so impactful was that Lucasfilm had somehow managed to keep it a secret, which is increasingly difficult to do in the age of social media, where set photos can quickly leak and most castings are revealed ahead of time. That was the case for The Mandalorian season 2 in a lot of ways, with reports of Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett and Rosario Dawson playing Ahsoka Tano surfacing long before the show returned. Despite that, though, Luke himself was kept hushed-up until the very end.

Related: The Mandalorian Season 2 Ending & All Twists Explained

In Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 2, episode 2, "Making of Season 2 Finale," there's a behind-the-scenes look at just how the team responsible for not only bringing Luke back, but ensuring that word didn't get out, did protect the show's biggest secret. This went as far as people on set not being allowed to use the name "Luke Skywalker" for a long time, and misdirects in the script. Indeed, in the screenplay for The Mandalorian season 2 finale, Luke wasn't even called "Luke Skywalker" at all, but was instead down as Plo Koon, a Jedi Master from the Star Wars prequels. Lucasfilm went as far as creating fake images and VFX mock-ups of Plo Koon, all in order to preserve the secret, as the images above and below show.

The Mandalorian Plo Koon

It's certainly an interesting choice, given Plo Koon is a very different character to Luke and, well, was killed during Order 66. Of course, death isn't necessarily permanent in Star Wars, and executive producer Dave Filoni notes that it's a well-known fact among many hardcore fans that Plo Koon is his favorite Jedi. The logic, then, was that if word of Plo Koon leaked, people would just assume that was happening because Filoni was such a huge fan of the character and had found a way to use him in live-action. There was even a visual of Plo Koon's head placed atop Luke's body in the dailies (albeit with a slightly altered color), meaning that Luke was kept a secret for as long as possible.

As creator Jon Favreau notes, it was increasingly difficult to prevent leaks for The Mandalorian season 2, with word of aforementioned characters like Ahsoka and Boba Fett getting out well ahead of time. But with the work of a team all guarding the secret, and a limit on who could actually know what details and when - with one VFX artist working on Luke having to spend days in an office by himself - they made it happen, allowing Luke's return pack an even greater punch.

Next: Mandalorian’s Luke Skywalker Without CGI: Mark Hamill, Deep Fake & Deaging

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