Rosario Dawson Surprised by Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker Return on 'The Mandalorian' Set

Mark Hamill's surprise appearance as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian stands as one of the most memorable moments in Star Wars history. During Star Wars Celebration, Rosario Dawson shared her astonishment at Hamill's cameo, which she only discovered when he unexpectedly walked onto the set of The Book of Boba Fett.

To maintain the secrecy surrounding Luke's appearance, showrunners Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau cleverly used Jedi Master Plo Koon as a decoy in the scripts. This tactic was employed to throw off potential leaks, and Dawson herself was misled by the script, which mentioned Plo Koon's arrival. This was particularly confusing for her, given Plo Koon's well-known demise in Revenge of the Sith.

"I was like... I don't know... but people disappear and then they come back, so maybe it's possible?" Dawson recounted. The surprise intensified when Mark Hamill appeared on set, humorously debunking the Plo Koon ruse by saying, "Plo Koon? That wouldn't even make sense!" Dawson admitted, "I know it didn't make sense, but I still had to think it made sense because I got the script and everything!"

Filoni and Favreau expressed their regret over the miscommunication, with Filoni saying, "That was bad on us!" and adding with a chuckle, "We assumed you'd gotten told the right information. We were in it so much." Favreau highlighted the importance of keeping two major secrets: Grogu's reveal at the end of the first episode and Luke Skywalker's appearance at the end of season two. He admitted, "We were biting our nails all the way through, and we somehow miraculously made it cleanly to both of those because everything else leaked. But, unfortunately, we didn't fill in our partner here."

Dawson took the mix-up in stride, jokingly saying, "I love it, they know I can't be trusted."

Concept art of Plo Koon used as a decoy. Image Credit: Disney & Lucasfilm