Sebastian Stan has finally responded to the Luke Skywalker rumors.
While the actor is quite busy playing Bucky Barnes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he did address the long-standing fan push for him to play a younger Luke Skywalker in a Star Wars project.
Stan indicated he’d be open to taking on the role but with one very specific condition.
The young Luke Skywalker
While Solo: A Star Wars Story wasn’t the huge hit expected, there was praise for Alden Ehrenreich playing the younger version of Han Solo.
He followed Ewan McGregor’s footsteps, winning huge approval by fans playing the younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels.
Since then, there has been fan speculation if a younger Luke Skywalker could appear for projects set in between the Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
Stan has often been mentioned taking on the part of Luke due to his striking resemblance to a young Mark Hamill.
The actors have even joked about it, with Stan calling Hamill “Dad” and Hamill praising Stan’s performances.
When Luke appeared in the second season finale of The Mandalorian, excited fans wondered if Stan would be under the hood. It turned out to be a fantastic CGI recreation for a young Hamill (as this would still be Luke just five years after Return of the Jedi).
While having Hamill voice a younger version of himself was thrilling, the push to see Stan taking on Luke remains strong in the fan Force.
Stan on the role
While talking to Good Morning America to discuss The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Stan was finally asked openly about the chances of taking on the Luke role. He made it clear he’d be willing to sign on only if the original gave his blessing.
Well, if Mark Hamill calls me personally to tell me that he feels inclined to share this role with me, then I’ll believe it, until then I won’t believe it.
The idea of Stan as a younger Luke would be intriguing. While the CGI for Luke in the Mandalorian was impressive, there’s a vast difference between de-aging an actor for a two-minute scene and doing so for a full movie or TV series.
Between the cost of such technology and how it would stretch the limits of believability, casting a different actor as a younger Luke would be logical. Stan’s resemblance to Hamill would be a benefit.
Stan would, of course, face the daunting task of trying to step into the shoes of Hamill, who made the role his own through both the original and sequel trilogies. Yet the Winter Soldier proves Stan has the action and dramatic chops to make it work.
A possible Luke series?
What sparks the talks is how Disney+’s planned slate of Star Wars TV shows makes it possible that a Luke series can really happen.
After all, McGregor will be reprising the role of Obi-Wan in his own TV show showing Kenobi in the immediate post-Revenge of the Sith galaxy.
The Star Wars timeline offers scores of opportunities to show what Luke was doing in the thirty-year period between the Mandalorian and the Force Awakens. This would include Luke setting up the Jedi Temple and trying to restart the Order only for Kylo Ren’s betrayal to send him into self-exile.
His Mandalorian cameo ended with Luke taking Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) with him for training. Logically, a third season might show how that’s going with another Luke appearance.
Right now, Stan is busy with the Winter Soldier, but his words show that if Hamill were to give the okay, he would leap to play Luke Skywalker in any project.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier streaming new episodes every Friday on Disney+.