Mark Hamill's unexpected appearance as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian is a moment etched in Star Wars lore as one of the franchise's most thrilling surprises. Rosario Dawson, who joined the Star Wars universe, shared an intriguing anecdote at Star Wars Celebration about her own surprise during the filming of The Book of Boba Fett. She revealed that she was completely unaware of Hamill's cameo until he appeared on set.
To keep Luke's cameo under wraps, creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau cleverly used Jedi Master Plo Koon as a decoy in the scripts. This tactic was part of a broader strategy to prevent leaks, but it inadvertently led to Dawson's confusion. She recounted her bewilderment upon reading about Plo Koon's supposed return in the script, given his 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 mused. Her confusion was quickly dispelled when Hamill himself appeared on set, humorously remarking, "Plo Koon? That wouldn't even make sense!" to which Dawson replied, "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 for not informing Dawson earlier, with Filoni admitting, "That was bad on us! I think we assumed you'd gotten told the right information." He added with a chuckle, "We were in it so much."
Favreau highlighted the intense pressure to maintain secrecy, stating, "There were two secrets we knew we had to keep on the show. One was Grogu's reveal at the end of the first episode, and the other one was Luke Skywalker at the end of season two. 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 oversight in stride, jokingly saying, "I love it, they know I can't be trusted."
Concept art of Plo Koon made to throw off leaks. Image Credit: Disney & Lucasfilm
