Mark Hamill explains why he had always wanted to see Luke Skywalker's return after the events of Return of the Jedi. As one of the core characters from the original Star Wars trilogy, seeing the legendary Jedi has always been a treat for fans. But while Luke appeared in the Star Wars sequel movies, but Hamill still wanted to explore a part of his character's story that only The Mandalorian's timeline would be able to do.
Introduced in 1977's Star Wars, the young Skywalker went through quite a personal arc from a farmer in Tatooine to the galaxy's best bet against the evil Empire in just one film. From there, he started proper training to be a Jedi under the tutelage of Grandmaster Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. Much of his story in the revered sequel revolved around this particular plot point, until he had to cut it short so he could help Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford). By the time Return of the Jedi began, Luke was noticeably more skilled, although it was his morals that ultimately defeated Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) as he inspired Darth Vader to finally do the right thing.
The Star Wars original trilogy ended on a high note, with the Rebellion successfully defeating the oppressive Empire. Despite this, Hamill says in Disney Gallery: Star Wars: The Mandalorian season 2, episode 2, "Making of Season 2 Finale" that he had always wanted to explore Luke's arc on the heels of Return of the Jedi. The actor explains that he would've wanted to see his character's adventures as a proper Jedi — something that quite came true through The Mandalorian when he showed up to pick up Grogu.
"I remember joking with George [Lucas], I said you know, when Return of the Jedi ends it's all over for me. And that would almost be like taking three movies to tell you how James Bond earned his licence to kill, and then it's over, no Dr. No, no Goldfinger, no From Russia With Love. And I was joking really, but it did occur to me that he went from a farmboy to a trainee to a Jedi, and yet then it's over and there's no tales of his exploits as a Jedi. So it's nice to have a rare look at what he would be doing prior to establishing the Jedi Academy but post-Jedi."
While all three Star Wars sequel movies featured Luke Skywalker in varying capacities, none of them was able to accomplish what Hamill actually wanted for his post-Return of the Jedi comeback. Based on his comments, he wanted to see Luke's adventures as a Jedi, which means it should be before he became disillusioned following Ben Solo's (Adam Driver) turn to the Dark side. By Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he's already a self-imposed recluse who didn't want to do with the ongoing commotion brought by the rise of the First Order. Even after Rey (Daisy Ridley) explained that she was sent by Leia, it took him a while to come out of hiding and decide to help.
It's no secret that Luke's surprise appearance at the end of The Mandalorian season 2 was met with some criticism. Once the initial wave of excitement over his cameo subsided, there were criticisms about how it overshadowed Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu's separation. Nonetheless, if he appears again in future seasons of the Disney+ show, it's safe to say that it would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn't be thrilled about it. That includes Hamill himself as this essentially makes his post-Return the Jedi dreams come true.
