Mark Hammill as Luke Skywalker in 'Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi'Image via Lucasfilm
By
Julio Bardini
Published Feb 22, 2026, 7:42 PM EST
Julio is a Senior Author for Collider. He studied History and International Relations at university, but found his calling in cultural journalism. When he isn't writing, Julio also teaches English at a nearby school. He has lived in São Paulo most of his life, where he covers CCXP and other big events. Having loved movies, music, and TV from an early age, he prides himself in knowing every minute detail about the things he loves. When he is older, he dreams of owning a movie theater in a small countryside town.
Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapAlmost 10 years later, merely mentioning Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi still gets fans up in arms, be it to attack or defend it. The main source of controversy will always be the movie's portrayal of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the ultimate Star Wars hero, who becomes a disillusioned old man in self-imposed exile, determined to let the Jedi Order vanish. Years later, however, this storyline is starting to unexpectedly pay off thanks to two Disney+ series: The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. The latter, especially, found little love among the fans, holding a 48% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but reframes Luke's fate in the sequels while also giving fans what they wanted to see from him.
The Mando-Verse Quietly Fills in the Gaps in Luke Skywalker's Story
When the Sequel Trilogy was originally announced back in 2012, everyone thought the Original Trilogy characters would return to the spotlight and save the galaxy again. That's not quite what happened, and Luke's arc was especially controversial, painting him as pretty much the opposite of what fans expected to see. While it was certainly shocking, it's canon, for better or worse. Now, the so-called Mando-verse is finally explaining how things turned out that way.
There are 30 years between the events of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, a period that is only touched on in The Last Jedi. What happened in between isn't a story the sequels told, but most fans also never expected that gap to be filled, so it was a great surprise seeing Luke return in the Mando-verse. These series take place around five years after Return of the Jedi, when the foundations of his future are still being established. Luke appears in only two episodes — the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett interlude — but those are enough. As it turns out, he did try to rebuild the Jedi Order and seek out new students, with Grogu himself probably being the very first, and the process was longer than we thought. Without the structure the Jedi once had, Luke struggled in his new role of Master. Still, this Luke was everything fans thought they would get in The Last Jedi.
The Mando-Verse Also Depicts Luke Skywalker in His Prime
Luke's part in The Mandalorian is nothing short of epic, saving the day by singlehandedly taking on a whole platoon of Dark Troopers. Later, in The Book of Boba Fett, he begins teaching Grogu the ways of the Force, repeating what his own masters did for him. He accomplishes similar things in the expanded Legends continuity, so many fans theorized they'd get to see him doing them in canon, too, and on the big screen. The absence of that version of Luke from the sequels is perhaps the greatest criticism, and, even though Luke's arc itself makes sense, it's a fair one.
The thing is, by the time of The Last Jedi, Luke is 53 years old, close to Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Alec Guinness) age in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope; even if he had it in him to perform the expected acrobatics, he simply wouldn't. Considering that detail, the Mando-verse is the ideal place for fans to see Luke in his prime at the age of 28, and it makes perfect sense for him to lay waste to Imperial battalions and be eager to take on his own students. Everything Luke does in the Mando-verse is what fans all wanted to see from the start, and it's important that he has the same willingness to fight as he has to teach. Grogu's training with him is eventually cut short, but Luke still finds it in him to try again, eventually training Ben Solo (Adam Driver) and other students.
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Posts 6 By Julio BardiniThe Mando-Verse Gives Fans More Context for Luke’s Actions in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
It's natural that the fans who dislike The Last Jedi enjoy the Mando-verse version of Luke way more, but that doesn't mean one is objectively superior to the other. As opposing as those two takes feel, they're still the same character, only at different stages of life. As cool as it is to watch him tear through the Dark Troopers, what follows is way more important. The Book of Boba Fett is essential for understanding why Luke's efforts in rebuilding the Jedi Order will ultimately fail. After his heroic rescue in The Mandalorian, Luke takes Grogu to Ossus, where the actual training begins. It's certainly nice to see how Luke draws from Yoda's (Frank Oz) teachings, especially given Grogu and Yoda's connection, but he's also drawing from his old master's mistakes. Luke fails to keep Grogu focused on his training, and Grogu leaves to go back to Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as soon as he gets the chance.
In the end, it's incredibly exciting to see Luke as a Jedi Master performing extraordinary feats, but it's about finding meaning in doing that. Luke's failure with Grogu echoes the old Order's failure towards his own father, Anakin (Hayden Christensen), and he can't see it because he's trying to be Yoda. This gives the sequel version of Luke a whole new dimension, filling gaps that the movies just couldn't and fixing what many fans considered a mistake.
The Book of Boba Fett
TV-14
Action
Adventure
Science Fiction
Release Date
2021 - 2022-00-00
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