It's time for Disney's Star Wars to close the book on Luke Skywalker. Although a longtime fan-favorite character since the advent of Star Wars with 1977's A New Hope, Luke has overstayed his welcome in the sweeping franchise. Mark Hamill portrayed Luke in the original Star Wars trilogy as well as in the three sequels, though Disney+ series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett brought a younger version of the character back using CGI and computer-generated vocals. Luke's reentrance in the Star Wars universe presents an issue for Disney's takeover of the franchise, as it exhibits a frustrating refusal to let go of the past.
Introduced in A New Hope living on Tatooine with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Luke proceeded to train as a Jedi Knight under the guidance of his father Anakin's old mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke reunited with his sister is Princess Leia, from whom he was separated at birth, and together alongside the likes of Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian, they defeated Emperor Palpatine's Galactic Empire. Decades later in The Force Awakens, Luke, then a Jedi Master, took Rey under his wing. At a point in between the two eras, The Mandalorian season 2, revealed Luke to be Grogu's mentor — a dynamic that The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 explored.
Luke’s appearance in The Book of Boba Fett further reinforces Star Wars’ hesitance to move on from the character. In a world as rich as George Lucas' fictional galaxy, it's disappointing that even Disney’s newer projects seem to revolve around a single character, who has been the center of the franchise since the beginning. If Disney is to usher in a bright new era of Star Wars, it needs to release itself from Luke Skywalker's chokehold and focus on its promising newer faces.
Star Wars Has Already Ended Luke Skywalker's Story
Mark Hamill's reappearance in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy finally ended Luke Skywalker's story. His death in The Last Jedi closed his wide-spanning arc and that should have been the character's final involvement in the saga. Even though The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett take place in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, it shouldn't be imperative to include Luke in these stories. Star Wars' Disney+ shows have done well to tell stories off the beaten path such as those of Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin and an older, post-Return of the Jedi Boba Fett played by Temeura Morrison. Accordingly, Star Wars' plotlines come across as forced when they attempt to include Luke in everything. Disney must realize that it's okay for Luke to have gaps in his storyline, as it shines a light on lesser-known narratives.
Why Star Wars Using CGI Luke Skywalker Is A Problem
Using computer-generated effects to visually and vocally recreate a younger Luke represents an impressive achievement with technology, but it really isn’t necessary. For his brief cameo in The Mandalorian season 2 finale, Luke was constructed using a de-aged Mark Hamill and deepfake technology, all while a different actor stood in for the character. The quality of Luke's likeness improved significantly in The Book of Boba Fett, as another body double was used along with the same deepfake method. Hamill did not voice Luke in either The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett. Rather, the show's sound editors used an AI neural network to synthesize Luke's voice based on old recordings.
The main problem lies in that Luke's CGI face noticeably differs from live-action characters and the robotic tone of his manufactured voice is extremely off-putting to many viewers. Star Wars shouldn’t have to go out of its way to bring back characters in this manner. To make matters worse, the computer-generated version of Luke sets a discouraging precedent for future films looking to feature younger versions of fictional characters or real-life personas. Instead of casting an actor for a role, studios may opt for uncanny depictions, which take away from the intricacies of a real person's voice and facial expressions. Luke's innovative resurrection evidences how much CGI and sound technologies have evolved since Star Wars' early days, though just because Disney can use them to bring him back doesn't mean that it should.
Luke Skywalker Distracts Too Much From Star Wars' New Characters
Part of what makes The Mandalorian such a captivating addition to the Star Wars universe and what made The Book of Boba Fett so promising is that the shows introduced new characters and/or focused on previously forgotten ones. Heroes such as Din, and Grogu take center stage in The Mandalorian, while the series also inducted a compelling new antagonist in Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon. With the exception of the prequel trilogy, Luke has appeared in every Star Wars movie, which makes his cameos in Disney+'s series seem like overkill. Compounded by Especially prevalent in Disney+ series since Luke was already a main character in the movies. Even if Luke's appearances have been limited to cameos, his presence overshadows the series' central characters because of how enormous of a character he is.
A prime example of Luke's overbearing presence comes from his entrance in The Mandalorian season 2 finale. During the episode's all-important moment that saw Din and Bo-Katan vie over the Darksaber, Luke arrived out of nowhere to retrieve Grogu. The surprise cameo may have thrilled some Star Wars fans, but it completely ruined the moment by having Luke steal the spotlight from The Mandalorian's main characters and conflict.
Disney Star Wars Has Already Set Up A Future Without Luke Skywalker
The characters introduced in Star Wars’ sequel trilogy and Disney+ shows help to enrich and broaden the scope of the franchise. As a result, Star Wars' insistence on making Luke relevant to so many of its new projects undermines the fact that it already has well-rounded figures like Rey, Finn, Poe, Din, and Grogu, among many others, to carry the torch into a new generation. Luke doesn’t add anything spectacular because, at this point, his presence has become overused. Disney shouldn’t prioritize filling in all the gaps of Luke’s storyline. Instead, it should focus on introducing and maintaining fresh perspectives because in a world as expansive as Star Wars, there are so many opportunities to do so.