How Did They Make Young Luke Skywalker In The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 6 (Improved CGI)?

Episode 6 of The Book of Boba Fett was well-received by fans thanks to the return of some of the most iconic Star Wars characters of all time. While Luke Skywalker’s appearance in the era of The Mandalorian isn’t new because he did appear in season 2 of The Mandalorian, he made his return and had a bigger role in episode 6 of The Book of Boba Fett. And the good news is that he looked better than he did in The Mandalorian. So, why did they make Luke Skywalker younger in The Book of Boba Fett?

The only explanation why young Luke Skywalker looks much better in The Book of Boba Fett is an improved CGI done by a better CGI team. Mark Hamill is still playing Luke, but his de-aging looks better because it was done by an artist named Shamook, who was discovered when he “fixed” Luke’s CGI in The Mandalorian.

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker has always been one of the most iconic portrayals in the history of pop culture, and it was right for Lucasfilm to bring him back in The Mandalorian for what seemed to be his final portrayal as prime Luke. However, it seems that Lucasfilm had outdone itself in The Book of Boba Fett when they brought Hamill back better than ever, thanks to better CGI.

Did Mark Hamill Play Luke In The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 6?

It hasn’t been a secret that The Book of Boba Fett is known for bringing in iconic characters in the Star Wars canon while also re-introducing some of the characters that we grew to love from the past Star Wars movies and shows. Episode 6 of The Book of Boba Fett was the mother of all cameos when it focused heavily on the return of several characters.

One of the biggest returns that episode 6 of that series revealed was Luke Skywalker. Luke’s reappearance in the Star Wars continuity and his introduction to The Book of Boba Fett was not done out of nostalgia because he did play a good role in this episode. He played as Grogu’s mentor and teacher while also allowing the youngling to have a choice in his path in life.

But while we do know that Luke’s return was necessary, one of the most surprising parts about his return is the fact that he looked better than ever and a lot more natural than his appearance back in The Mandalorian season 2. So, in that regard, is it still Mark Hamill playing Luke Skywalker in The Book of Boba Fett?

For the most part, Mark Hamill played Luke in the character’s reappearance in The Book of Boba Fett. It was the same case in The Mandalorian, wherein he was the one who portrayed Luke but not entirely because Max Lloyd-Jones served as Luke’s stand-in. However, in The Book of Boba Fett, Hamill was still credited in the cast, but certain names such as Scott Lang as his stunt double and Graham Hamilton as his performance artist were also given credit.

So, in a way, Mark Hamill was not the only person who portrayed Luke in The Book of Boba Fett because it was a team effort on the part of multiple people. However, there are questions as to who portrayed his voice because we all know that Hamill no longer has the voice that he once had when he portrayed Luke in 1983.

Back in The Mandalorian, Mark Hamill was the one who voiced Luke, but the special effects team used a synthesizer to adjust his voice to that of his younger 28-year-old self. But The Book of Boba Fett never credited who voiced Mark Hamill or how he was voiced. Unlike Corey Burton, who is listed as Cad Bane’s voice actor in the credits, there isn’t anyone else credited for Luke Skywalker. The only conclusion we can draw is that they once again used a synthesizer to de-age Hamill’s voice.

How Did They Make Young Luke Skywalker In The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 6?

Making people younger and having them return to portray their old characters in newer movies isn’t new in the Star Wars universe. We saw Grand Moff Tarkin making a return in Rogue One several years ago. And a younger Princess Leia also appeared in that very same film.

Meanwhile, in The Mandalorian, we saw the return of Luke Skywalker in season 2 of that episode. And the one thing that was clear was that he still looked the same as he did in 1983 but with a few obvious details that made it apparent that his face was not natural.

The same thing happened in The Book of Boba Fett when Luke Skywalker returned as his younger self. But the question as to how they were able to make young Luke in The Book of Boba Fett.

Of course, the answer to that question is the trusty CGI technology that has become so advanced that it is now able to de-age actors or even bring them back to life (in the case of Moff Tarkin in Rogue One). In the same way, they used CGI to bring Mark Hamill’s useful appearance back in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

However, considering that Hamill has the body of a man in his 70s, Lucasfilm opted to use a performance artist to portray his body. But Hamill’s face is still used on the body of the performance artist to make the scenes more realistic and iconic.

Why does Luke Skywalker’s CGI Now Look Much Better Than In The Mandalorian?

When Luke Skywalker made his return in The Book of Boba Fett, the one thing that fans were able to agree on is that he looks so much better than he did back in The Mandalorian season. So, why is Luke’s CGI better now than a few years ago in The Mandalorian?

In The Mandalorian, it wasn’t as if his CGI was bad. It was good enough for someone who was expected to return to play a role he performed back in his prime for what seemed to be the final time. However, the consensus was that Hamill’s face as Luke still looked plastic-y, in a sense, and was quite similar to how fake Tarkin’s CGI was in Rogue One.

The fact that Luke’s face in The Mandalorian looked so fake had fans calling for a re-cast of the iconic Skywalker. Everyone in the world understands that Mark Hamill is no longer 28, and that means that it would be okay even for the diehard fans to see another fresh face like Sebastian Stan (who plays the Winter Soldier in the Disney-owned MCU) play Luke Skywalker instead. But that wasn’t the case in The Book of Boba Fett.

Meanwhile, in The Book of Boba Fett, Skywalker looked so much natural. Take note that the CGI on Luke still isn’t perfect because, throughout the episode, he looked so emotionless and was seemingly dull in a lot of different scenes. However, we can all agree that his CGI is better in The Book of Boba Fett. So, why is it that Luke looks so much better in The Book of Boba Fett compared to The Mandalorian?

One of the things that we can say for sure is that the CGI team that did Luke’s CGI has improved and was probably changed or upgraded in the sense that Lucasfilm hired better and more talented artists.

A while ago, a YouTuber who goes by the name of Shamook posted an improved version of Luke Skywalker’s appearance in The Mandalorian when he used deepfake to make the iconic Jedi’s face more natural than the original.

Then, in July of 2021, Lucasfilm confirmed that they hired the very same person who did the deepfake. As such, we can conclude that Shamook had a good part to play in Luke Skywalker’s appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, as there are similarities between his version in The Mandalorian and the one in the latest aforementioned episode.

In a way, it was good for Lucasfilm to be on the lookout for some talented artists that can do the job better. We are not demeaning the work of their artists back in The Mandalorian in any way. But Lucasfilm did a terrific job of bringing in more people that have the talent and skills to bring to life iconic characters we grew to love decades ago.