Luke Skywalker was the right choice for The Mandalorian’s big reveal

Throughout two seasons on Disney Plus, The Mandalorian has delved into different aspects of the Star Wars Universe, though it created more questions than it answered.

One answers some fans have been dissatisfied with was the reveal of who Grogu contacted from Typhon in Season 2 of the Disney Plus series. The safe money was on Luke Skywalker, though there were other choices. But in the end, Luke was the obvious choice because he was the Jedi who made the most sense.

The Mandalorian’s mission

Towards the end of Season 1, The Armorer gave Din Djarin the mission of returning Grogu to his people. Naturally, she meant the Jedi and not whatever species The Child is. That’s a mystery that’s been lingering around Star Wars since Yoda first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back.

Season 2 of The Mandalorian saw Djarin make his way around the galaxy searching for any remaining Jedi. The path he followed led him to old friends like Peli Motto, Cara Dune and Greef Karga. He also made new friends like Bo-Katan Kryze and Boba Fett.

His ever-growing circle of Mandalorian allies led Djarin to Ahsoka Tano. She was on a mission to track down Grand Admiral Thrawn, and presumably Ezra Bridger. While Ahsoka was not willing to train Grogu, she did direct him to Typhon and a chance to find a Jedi who would.

It was on that sacred Jedi world that Grogu used the Force to make contact with someone. He was also captured by Moff Gideon, but fans knew Djarin would come to the rescue. But who Grogu contacted remained a mystery until the final moments of Season 2.

Trapped on Gideon’s ship with Dark Troopers bearing down on them, Djarin and his crew were out of options. Then, a lone Jedi boarded the light cruiser and cut his way through the droid soldiers. That Jedi turned out to be Luke Skywalker.

Luke Skywalker wasn’t every fan’s first choice

Ever since Grogu made his long distance call to an anonymous Jedi, fans had speculated wildly as to who would arrive to train The Child. There were a lot of options floating around, and any one of them could have turned out to be right.

Ezra Bridger was the first name on a lot of people’s lists. He has been MIA since the end of Rebels, another Dave Filoni Star Wars series. As he didn’t die, fans have been expecting him to reappear at some point and responding to Grogu’s call seemed like the right moment.

Cal Kestis was another option, though ever so slightly more obscure. Cal is the main protagonist of the recent hit video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The story of that game takes place a few short years after the end of the Clone Wars so he could have made an appearance.

The more long-shot option would have been Mace Windu. Fans have long speculated that he survived his altercation with Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith. Samuel L. Jackson has thrown gasoline on that fire in the past, though it’s a plausible move.

People survive some pretty horrific injuries. Anakin lost multiple limbs to Obi-Wan and was burned to a crisp by the heat coming off the lava rivers of Mustafar. If he can survive all of that, Mace can survive losing one limb, getting zapped by Force lightning and being tossed out a window.

Luke Skywalker on The Mandalorian just makes sense

Keeping in mind that any one of those options would have been amazing, Luke Skywalker was still the one that made the most sense. There are several reasons for that, some relating to him and others relating to them.

No one knows if Bridger is still alive or not, which is something likely to be explored in the new Ahsoka Tano series. In the case of Cal Kestis, he has yet to be established as a character outside of his one video game. There needs to be more setup for that to happen.

Similarly, bringing Mace Windu back into the mix is seeming more likely all the time but Jackson returning to Star Wars would be hard to keep under wraps. And the secrecy of the reveal in the closing moments of The Mandalorian Season 2 was key to its success.

The second Rosario Dawson was cast, fans jumped on her playing Ahsoka. If Jackson was remotely associated with Star Wars, again, the internet would have broken and the surprise would have been ruined. And not knowing who would arrive to train Grogu was half the fun.

That’s also the reason having a CGI Luke voiced by Mark Hamill made more sense than bringing in Sebastian Stan to play the character. Even a hint of Stan’s involvement would have tipped the producer’s hands as to what they had planned.

Setting up the next steps

Ultimately, Luke was the most logical choice because he was the Jedi around at that point who was actively trying to rebuild the Order. Though fans know his efforts didn’t work out too well thanks to the sequel trilogy, he was still the Jedi who was on that mission.

There’s already talk of a Luke Skywalker series on Disney Plus, possibly set in this era. For all intents and purposes, it might simultaneously be a spinoff of The Mandalorian and a sequel to Return of the Jedi. It might also be a great way to bridge some other stories.

Cal Kestis and Mace Windu could make appearances in this series. Similarly, this would be the opportunity to bring in Sebastian Stan as the younger Luke. Fans have already shown how accepting they are of this idea. They’ve been fan-casting him in the role for years.

Since Grogu is now Luke’s sidekick, this series could also answer some questions about the little green omnivore. For those fans wondering where he was in the sequel trilogy, keep in mind that he’s currently a 50 year old baby. By the time those movies happen, he’s probably still a baby.

While Luke Skywalker wasn’t necessarily every fan’s first choice to help Grogu, he was the best choice. Given the era The Mandalorian takes place during in Star Wars, Luke was the Jedi who was in the right place at the right time to do what needed to be done.