A year has passed since the sensational finale of The Mandalorian season 2 broke the internet. The episode marked the return of Star Wars legend Mark Hamill as a young Luke Skywalker, which left the fans shedding tears of joy. After he was unceremoniously killed off in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, fans abandoned any hopes of seeing Luke Skywalker again. But Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni did the impossible. Not only did they bring back the iconic character, but they also set the stage for his future appearances.

Mark Hamill recently took to social media to celebrate the anniversary of the event. He tweeted a BTS picture of his stunt double Max Lloyd-Jones, writing "Happy Anniversary to the return of Luke on @themandalorian. I'd like to thank my double Max Lloyd-Jones who did a great job, despite being clearly too handsome for the part."

The Mandalorian season 2 finale, titled "Chapter 16: The Rescue," aired on December 18, 2020, and quickly sealed its spot as one of the best TV episodes ever. A hooded Luke arrived in his X-Wing and quickly bested Moff Gideon’s Dark Troopers. Even though Hamill’s cameo was the highlight, the entire episode was an action-packed and emotional joyride. We see Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) saying goodbye to Grogu as he leaves with Luke to begin his Jedi training. Mando also wields the dark saber now, which will become a cause of conflict with Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) in the future.

The Mandalorian season 3 is currently filming and will likely premiere in late 2022. Hamill hasn’t been officially confirmed to return, but with the way season 2 ended, it’s almost certain we’ll be seeing Luke Skywalker again. Speaking of returns, even Mark Hamill was surprised when he was approached to star in The Mandalorian. "Talk about unexpected. I had finished playing that part, and I never expected to do it again. I figured if they ever tell stories of Luke in that period, post the originals and pre-sequels, they would get an age-appropriate actor. So when [series creator] Jon Favreau and [producer] Dave Filoni told me about what they wanted to do, I was just stunned," he said on The Tonight Show.

Disney and Lucasfilm went to great lengths to keep his cameo secret. Fake scripts were handed out and only the top brass was privy to the knowledge of Hamill’s cameo. Extensive CGI was utilized to de-age the 70-year-old Mark Hamill. While his body-double did most of the work, Hamill was also present on the set. Although the end result was far from perfect, it was still a big achievement. For season 3 of The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm has roped in Deepfake expert Shamook to help with Luke’s appearance.

It’s going to be a while before Mando and Grogu return for more adventures. Meanwhile, The Book of Boba Fett is here to satiate your Star Wars cravings. The show stars Temuera Morrison as the feared bounty hunter Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen as mercenary Fennec Shand. The Book of Boba Fett premieres on Disney+ on December 29, 2022, and will comprise seven episodes.