Luke Skywalker trains Grogu between The Mandalorian season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett, but what does this mean for the Jedi Order and its future?
WARNING: Spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian.
Luke Skywalker returns in The Mandalorian to save Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, and train him to be a Jedi - but what is next for the pair? The Mandalorian season 2 ended with Din Djarin, Cara Dune, and Fennec Shand, aided by Boba Fett and joined by Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves, on a mission to rescue Grogu from the clutches of Moff Gideon. When all hope seemed lost, Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian, in his black Return of the Jedi robes, arrives. After easily dispatching Gideon's Dark Troopers, he departs with Grogu. The Book of Boba Fett showed what happened next, with Din Djarin traveling to Luke's new Jedi temple to reunite with his little green buddy.
The Book of Boba Fett, episode 6, "Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger," focused almost entirely on Din Djarin and his attempts to track down Grogu. He finds Luke's temple on an unidentified forest planet but is greeted by R2D2 and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). Ahsoka shows Grogu learning to use the Force to Din, and Din opts to depart quietly, leaving the gift of a Beskar chainmail shirt for his friend. However, Grogu learns of Din's visit, and Luke gives him a choice — take Yoda's lightsaber and train as a Jedi, or accept Din's armor and forsake the Jedi ways of non-attachment. Grogu decides Din means more to him than learning the ways of the Force, so he heads to Tatooine with R2D2 just in time for The Book Of Boba Fett's finale. This clearly wasn't what Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian intended when he rescued Grogu at the end of The Mandalorian season 2, meaning speculation has risen over what's next for the rekindled Jedi Order after losing its first new student.
How & Why Luke Skywalker Returns In The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale
Luke Skywalker's return in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 8, is one of the show's biggest moments, and while it was a huge surprise at the very end of "The Rescue," the narrative groundwork had certainly been laid for it. Back in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 6, "Chapter 14: The Tragedy," Grogu was placed on the Seeing Stone on Tython, where he was able to reach out through the Force. At the time, it was speculated that Baby Yoda saw Luke's Jedi Order in the Force and that Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian himself may have sensed his presence, something Ahsoka had suggested could happen. While at first, it seemed like no Jedi had heard Baby Yoda's call, clearly Luke did.
This makes sense because around the timeline of The Mandalorian season 2 (roughly 9ABY), Luke is searching for Jedi and Sith artifacts, and learning more about their history and the Force in general. He'd be well-attuned to the presence of another Force-sensitive, especially in a place such as Tython, which explains how he could sense Grogu and then presumably follow that presence to Moff Gideon's light cruiser. As one of the few living members of the Jedi Order at this point in time, Luke would undoubtedly want to do anything it took to save a potential emerging Jedi, and given how strong Baby Yoda is in the Force — as evidenced by Grogu's "high M-count" — he'd be even more aware of how valuable Grogu is. Luke always had high ambitions for Grogu and his place in the new Jedi Order- as evidenced in The Book of Boba Fett when Luke offered Grogu the lightsaber of none other than Master Yoda, arguably the most powerful Jedi that's ever lived (or at least that Luke holds in the highest regard as a Force user).
This version of Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian is the one many fans have long wanted to see on screen, because he's clearly at the height of his powers. He became a true Jedi in Return of the Jedi but continued to train and grow stronger, and it's easy to see his immense power here in how easily he defeats the Dark Troopers. His inclusion in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett also gave fans a chance to see Luke Skywalker wield the green lightsaber properly in the Disney era after the weapon was largely missing (bar flashbacks) from the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Mark Hamill Plays Luke Skywalker In The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale
Original Star Wars actor Mark Hamill returned as Luke Skywalker for The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. When The Mandalorian season 1 first debuted on Disney+, online speculation that Luke could appear was instantaneous. The sequel trilogy established that Luke kept himself incredibly busy setting up the new order after Return of the Jedi, so any project set between Episode VI and Star Wars: The Force Awakens was always bound to garner demand for Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker from many Star Wars fans. There was naturally also speculation of who would play him, with Sebastian Stan being a popular fan cast. Since that was true of Rosario Dawson too, who was eventually cast and starred as Ahsoka Tano, it did feel like a possibility. Instead, The Mandalorian opted to bring back Hamill, with the use of a lot of CGI, similar to how Rogue One: A Star Wars Story brought back Princess Leia, with Hamill's digitally de-aged face superimposed over his double: Book of Boba Fett actor Max Lloyd-Jones.
Credited as "Double for Jedi," Lloyd-Jones isn't a well-known name but has several credits, including Tom Thornton in the TV show Where Calls The Heart, Blue Eyes in War for the Planet of the Apes, and Jacob in Once Upon A Time. Following his behind-the-scenes work in The Mandalorian, Lloyd-Jones appeared in The Book of Boba Fett's Mandalorian-focused episode as a New Republic X-wing pilot. Despite Luke Skywalker returning for The Book of Boba Fett, this time, Hamill's body double was Graham Hamilton. The "deep fake" Luke Skywalker proved to be divisive but ultimately was the right choice, as it was a huge moment for Star Wars — and Hamill is the only choice for Luke Skywalker to the vast majority of audiences. Recasting the role, even with a star as popular as Stan, would've been extremely difficult to pull off, and the goodwill from Hamill returning trumped any issues with CGI in the long run. Besides this, by the time he was seen again in The Book of Boba Fett, Disney had significantly improved their CGI Luke Skywalker deep fake, and the increased efforts were noticed and appreciated by many fans online.
Baby Yoda's Jedi Training With Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker arrived in The Mandalorian to rescue Grogu. Having sensed his presence in the Force, Luke was acutely aware that Baby Yoda needed training from a fellow Jedi to master his incredible abilities and be safe. This fits with Baby Yoda's backstory in The Mandalorian, as previously, he had to hide his Force powers to stay hidden; it was those same powers that drew the attention of Moff Gideon and the Imperial Remnant, and without the likes of Mando helping him, Grogu's fate could have been very different and a lot more tragic. With the proper training by none other than Luke Skywalker, Grogu no longer has to be as defenseless and can have more agency in his future.
While Luke Skywalker takes Baby Yoda to train him, the timeline shown in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett means it is still a few years away from Luke starting his Jedi Academy with a young Ben Solo, who was previously said to be his very first student. This initially raised a few questions when The Mandalorian season 2 finished, as some wondered if The Mandalorian was retconning the Star Wars canon established in the sequel trilogy. It wouldn't be off-brand for Disney to happily disregarded its own canon built up through books and comics if it means better servicing their major live-action properties — meaning Baby Yoda could well have become the foundation for Luke's Jedi Order instead of Ben Solo. If it had happened, though, then it would possibly have meant a dark fate for Grogu. Ben Solo eventually turns to the dark side, becoming Kylo Ren and killing Luke Skywalker's other students, which could have included Grogu. That said, Baby Yoda has already survived one Jedi Purge, so even if Disney retconned Ben Solo to Luke's second, rather than first, fully-fledged student, there's no guarantee Grogu wouldn't have survived Kylo Ren's wrath regardless.
Luke Gives Grogu A Tough Choice In Book Of Boba Fett
The Book of Boba Fett ultimately picked up where The Mandalorian left off, with Disney opting for an alternate narrative decision that didn't risk Grogu crossing paths with Ben Solo's angry purge. When given a choice between staying with Luke and training to be a Jedi or being with Din Djarin, Grogu decides that although the force is strong, family is the way, and Din is the closest that Grogu has. He receives a small amount of training from Luke (and possibly Ahsoka since she's at the temple when Din arrives), but ultimately Grogu isn't Yoda despite being a baby version of the same species. This fact was hammered home when Grogu rejected his first lightsaber, AKA Yoda's, for Mandalorian chainmail.
This feels more logical because, ultimately, The Mandalorian is not Luke's story, but that of Din Djarin and Grogu. The Mandalorian season 3 could have shown Din's adventures without Baby Yoda, but it wouldn't have felt right. Audiences fell in love with The Mandalorian because of the dynamic the two share. The Mandalorian's heartbreaking goodbye between the pair, with Din not only showing Grogu his face but allowing him to touch it (which is likely the first time anyone has touched his face since he was taken in as a foundling), was both one of the series most emotional moments and cemented the inextricable bond between the two. In The Mandalorian season 2, Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano explained that Grogu needed to choose his own path, and it may be with the Mandalorians rather than the Jedi (showing Tano may be a little wiser than Luke, to boot).
The Book of Boba Fett also focused on the history of the Darksaber, which was originally forged by the only Mandalorian Jedi to date, Tarre Vizsla. Now that Din has the Darksaber and could learn to become the Mandalore, Grogu choosing his family over the asceticism of the Jedi Order would make for incredibly engaging storytelling. The difference between the creeds of the Mandalorians and The Jedi is a big theme in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Disney's interpretation of Jedi is more nuanced than Lucasfilm's before Disney acquired the license — they're not the de-facto unquestionable good guys they once were. Furthermore, Grogu choosing Din and donning Mandalorian armor is as symbolic as Luke burning the Jedi texts in Star Wars: The Last Jedi - acting as a message from Disney that the Jedi aren't the galaxy's de-facto heroes anymore, that they're flawed, and that Disney recognizes the Jedi ideology of detachment and blind self-sacrifice for the greater good isn't as endearing in the 21st century as it was in the post-WW2/Cold War decades when A New Hope first released.
Will Luke Skywalker & Grogu Return After Book Of Boba Fett?
Following The Mandalorian season 2 finale, the timeline picked up in The Book of Boba Fett, which primarily followed Boba Fett's mission to liberate Mos Espa from Tatooine's criminal underworld. The Book of Boba Fett episode 5 — with Boba missing — served as a standalone episode for Din Djarin and his experiences since giving Grogu to Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian. The episode confirmed that Din has accepted, in his mind at least, Grogu to be a Mandalorian foundling. The Book of Boba Fett episode 5 saw The Armorer forging Grogu chainmail out of Beskar — and as followers of the show know, Mandalorians don't forge armor from Beskar and gift it to others lightly. It's a massively symbolic gesture, and one that shows just how deep the bond between Din and Grogu really is.
Luke Skywalker returns to the main Star Wars story at the climax of The Force Awakens. However, Episode VII predates The Mandalorian by several years. Grogu isn't mentioned to Rey by Luke, but that's purely because The Mandalorian, Grogu, and Disney+ didn't exist when The Force Awakens script was written. There's no on-screen evidence to confirm Luke and Grogu cross paths once more after The Book of Boba Fett, but that doesn't mean the pair can't reunite again. Luke and Rey spend a lot of time training together in The Last Jedi, meaning it's entirely plausible that, if Grogu does have a larger part to play in Luke's history, he told Rey about Grogu off-screen.
For now, it appears Grogu's turned his back on Jedi training, but his Force abilities still exist. Luke and Ahsoka might not be done with him just yet, and if Grogu is being set up to become the second Mandalorian Jedi, it's been widely theorized that his future will also see him wielding the Darksaber. Whether this will be a future that's shown in The Mandalorian season 3, or if it's a hypothetical far-future explored in other mediums like comics, remains to be seen. There's also the possibility that Disney could be setting up Grogu to be used as a Yoda-like character in a potential Star Wars Episode 10. Audiences won't have to wait until Grogu's adulthood, though, as The Book of Boba Fett ends with Grogu firmly back in Din's care. When The Mandalorian season 3 debuts, it's almost guaranteed to have more adventures with the Mando and the Child, just like the season 1 set-up that won over a new generation of Star Wars fans.
Ahsoka Will Likely Show What Luke Does Next
Grogu and Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian just started their respective journeys, and it's likely that audiences will find out what Luke is up to next in the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka. The upcoming season of The Mandalorian seems to be shifting its focus more toward the War for Mandalore, and less so on any Jedi-themed storylines. So, while not impossible, it's highly unlikely that the series will see Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian again quite so soon. That being said, Luke clearly has ties to Ahsoka, and the previously animated Clone Wars character is finally getting her own show on Disney+. A crucial piece of Luke Skywalker's new Jedi Order, Ahsoka Tano was once Anakin's Padawan, and one of the few to survive Palpatine's Order 66. While there's no concrete release date for Ahsoka, it will be hitting Disney+ sometime in 2023, likely later in the year rather than sooner. Since Ahsoka is part of Luke's Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker must make an appearance in her new TV show. Therefore, Luke Skywalker's story after The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett will pick back up in Ahsoka.
Next: Everything We Know About The Mandalorian Season 3
The Mandalorian returns to Disney+ for season 3 in February 2023.
