Mark Hamill's surprise appearance as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian stands as one of the most iconic moments in Star Wars lore. Rosario Dawson, who joined the franchise, shared a fascinating behind-the-scenes story at Star Wars Celebration. She revealed she was completely unaware of Hamill's cameo until he unexpectedly appeared on the set of The Book of Boba Fett.
To maintain the secrecy of Luke's cameo, directors Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau cleverly used Jedi Master Plo Koon as a decoy in the scripts. This strategy was designed to mislead potential leakers. Dawson, like many fans, was perplexed when she read about Plo Koon's supposed return in the script, given his dramatic 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 recalled. The surprise was complete when Hamill himself appeared on set, humorously commenting, "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 not informing Dawson earlier, with Filoni saying, "That was bad on us!" and adding with a laugh, "We assumed you'd gotten told the right information. We were in it so much."
Favreau emphasized the importance of keeping two major secrets on the show: Grogu's reveal at the end of the first episode and Luke Skywalker's appearance at the end of season two. He noted, "We were biting our nails all the way the whole 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 it 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
