Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for The Book of Boba Fett
Surprises abounded in The Book of Boba Fett episode 6, and one of the biggest was the new-and-improved de-aged Luke Skywalker. Despite the fact that the episode once again featured very little in the way of Boba Fett himself, The Book of Boba Fett's episode 6 was another excellent primer for The Mandalorian season 3 and could point to a larger role for de-aged Luke going forward. The episode largely revolves around Din Djarin seeking out Grogu, and while Djarin doesn't end up seeing the child (or Luke), Skywalker's role was a big one.
This, of course, comes about a year after the shocking appearance of Luke Skywalker during the finale of The Mandalorian season 2. Though audiences expected to wait at least until The Mandalorian season 3 to catch a glimpse of Luke Skywalker training Grogu, The Book of Boba Fett delivered early, showcasing a post-Return of the Jedi Skywalker who was much more active and central than the figure who made a (jaw-dropping) cameo at the end of The Mandalorian season 2. It certainly seems as though Lucasfilm has put lots of time and effort into refining their de-aged version of Luke.
In fact, thanks to a nostalgia-laden sequence in which Luke mirrors the acrobatics he displayed in The Empire Strikes Back, it's clear Lucasfilm is doubling down on making de-aged, post-Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker a viable player in the Star Wars sandbox. In The Book of Boba Fett, Luke is running, jumping, and exercising his mastery over the Force. Naturally, it took a whole team to create de-aged Luke Skywalker, and the end result shows that Luke is more than capable of appearing again and again without seeming as stiff as he did in The Mandalorian. Due to how clearly refined the process of de-aging Mark Hamill has become, it's highly unlikely that The Book of Boba Fett will be Luke Skywalker's last appearance - so much so that it would be unsurprising if a Skywalker-centric spinoff were to be announced soon.
The Book of Boba Fett's Luke Skywalker actually looks slightly less like Mark Hamill than The Mandalorian's Jedi master. Perhaps this is because Luke's body double was a different actor this time (Scott Lang instead of Max Lloyd-Jones), but it may also be a choice by Lucasfilm to focus more on the character of Luke himself rather than the image of a young Mark Hamill. While adaptations like de-aging Hamill or bringing Cad Bane to live-action may draw criticism from some, ultimately relying less on a 1:1 visual translation will surely free up Lucasfilm to do more with these beloved characters.
For Luke himself, this opens up very exciting possibilities. The depiction of the construction of Luke's Jedi academy, coupled with the excitement of seeing Luke in action yet again, is sure to stoke interest in a spinoff show centered around Luke building a new Jedi order. While the eventual destruction of Luke's academy by Ben Solo/Kylo Ren is shown in the sequel trilogy, there is plenty of ground in which to use Luke to introduce a whole new group of Force users. Although The Book of Boba Fett ultimately wasn't Skywalker's story, it's clear the show has laid the foundation for a bright future for the young Jedi.
