No Star Wars fans were expecting the mind-boggling closing moments of The Mandalorian’s season 2 finale. After defeating Moff Gideon and saving Grogu, Mando and his team were faced with the onslaught of the Dark Troopers. And then, a lone X-wing showed up, a cloaked Jedi slew his way through the Imperial Remnants’ robot army, and after revealing himself to be the legendary Luke Skywalker, he took the kid away to train him in the ways of the Force.
Going forward, The Mandalorian can either drop Grogu and focus on Din Djarin’s continuing adventures without him or explore Luke’s training of Grogu on the show.
Should: The Show Can’t Afford To Lose Grogu
Ever since “Baby Yoda” became an overnight global sensation, Grogu has been just as integral to The Mandalorian as the titular bounty hunter himself. And he’s arguably even more popular.
The show can’t afford to lose Grogu. It would be like Family Guy getting rid of Stewie or The Office getting rid of Dwight – a TV series can’t lose its breakout character.
Shouldn’t: The CGI Is Too Dodgy To Support More Than A Cameo
Luke’s appearance in the second-season finale of The Mandalorian was a glorious feast for the eyes, but if there’s one complaint to be made, it’s that the CGI used to de-age Mark Hamill was a little dodgy.
It was fine enough to sustain that brief cameo appearance, but it’s too iffy to support a major multi-episode arc throughout the show’s third season.
Should: It Could Make Up For The Character’s Portrayal In The Sequel Trilogy
Thanks to a combination of J.J. Abrams using an off-screen Luke Skywalker as a “mystery box” MacGuffin and Rian Johnson wanting to subvert fans’ expectations at the expense of satisfying them, Luke was squandered in the sequel trilogy.
His sacrifice at the end of The Last Jedi is emotionally resonant, but on the whole, the trilogy let the character down. If Luke has a real arc on The Mandalorian, it can improve his on-screen post-Return of the Jedi adventures.
Shouldn’t: The Series Should Focus On Mando
Although he’s undoubtedly the most popular character, Grogu isn’t the star of The Mandalorian; the Mandalorian himself is. The series needs to focus on Din Djarin and his helmeted adventures across the galaxy.
In the first two seasons of the show, protecting Grogu was Mando’s top priority, so the series was able to keep the focus on Mando while heavily featuring the kid. Now that the two have been separated, the show can’t revolve around both of them anymore.
Should: Ahsoka Compared Grogu To Anakin
When Ahsoka Tano met Grogu in “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” she noted his emotional attachments and compared him to Anakin. This will make him an interesting foil for Luke, who at this point in the timeline has just saved Darth Vader from the dark side.
Between saving Vader and failing Ben Solo, Luke’s training of Grogu will arrive at a crucial point in his journey as a Jedi. Whether or not he can keep Grogu on a wayward path will test his skills as a master ahead of opening a full academy.
Shouldn’t: There’s Enough Story Material For A Full Spin-Off
While Luke training Grogu could make for a fun B-story in The Mandalorian’s third season, there’s enough material to tell this story as a full spin-off, joining Disney Plus’ ever-growing roster of original live-action Star Wars content.
As The Mandalorian focuses on the Mandalorian himself, the writers would have limited scope in depicting Grogu’s training on the show. It might be easier to just make Grogu’s path to becoming a Jedi its own show.
Should: It Would Be A Fun Inversion Of Yoda Training Luke
In the middle act of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke is guided by Ben Kenobi’s Force ghost to travel to the swamp planet of Dagobah and train under the wise old Jedi Master Yoda.
Seeing Luke train an infant member of Yoda’s species would be a fun inversion of Luke’s own iconic training montage with Yoda on his back.
Shouldn’t: The Whole Time, Fans Would Know There’s A Massacre On The Way
Since Ben Solo is just a toddler at the time The Mandalorian is set, it’ll be a few years before he becomes a student at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy and ends up turning to the dark side and killing all his classmates.
But that is coming somewhere down the line. Just like the Cassian Andor series will be marred by knowing his ultimate fate, the story of Luke’s Jedi academy would be tarnished by the inevitable tragedy on its way.
Should: Luke Could Be Involved In The “Climactic Story Event” The Mandalorian Is Building To
When Lucasfilm announced a boatload of Mandalorian spin-offs – Ahsoka, Rangers of the New Republic, and The Book of Boba Fett – it was confirmed that all these series, along with The Mandalorian itself, would lead toward a “climactic story event” tying all the characters together.
It sounds like this climactic event will be the Endgame of the Mandalorian-verse. It would be awesome to have Luke Skywalker involved in this action-packed finale.
Shouldn’t: The Mandalorian Can’t Get Too Hung Up On Familiar Well-Worn Characters
After focusing on original characters in its first season, The Mandalorian included a handful of familiar faces in its second season: Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Cobb Vanth, Bo-Katan Kryze, R2-D2, Bib Fortuna, and of course, Luke Skywalker.
Originally, The Mandalorian set out to explore uncharted territory in the Star Wars universe with new characters. If the show gets too hung up on well-worn characters like Luke and Boba, then it’ll kind of miss the point.