According to Gina Carano, who plays Cara Dune on The Mandalorian, she and the show's other stars didn't know about Mark Hamill's casting in the Season 2 finale until the day of filming.

"I started finding out about it in the makeup trailer, basically because you’re like, ‘Oh wait, who’s that?’" Carano told Drunk 3PO. "And because they didn’t say it in the script... everyone that has worked on The Mandalorian is insane, like insane Star Wars fans. And they have the shirts, and they’re like, ‘Wait a second.’ And so, everybody starts doing a little whispering."

Related: The Mandalorian: Jon Favreau Wanted Din Djarin to Say an Iconic Star Wars Line

The Mandalorian's Season 2 finale concluded with Luke Skywalker coming to the rescue, just as Din Djarin and his allies were about to be overwhelmed by the Dark Troopers aboard Moff Gideon's light cruiser. Since Luke is decades younger than Hamill is at the point The Mandalorian takes place in the Star Wars timeline, the episode used a CGI de-aged version of Hamill's likeness for Luke's face, which was digitally animated over actor Max Lloyd-Jones (who served as Hamill's body-double for the finale).

Shortly after The Mandalorian Season 2 finale began streaming, Hamill admitted he was amazed his cameo hadn't been spoiled ahead of time. "The fact that we were able to keep my involvement a secret for over a year with no leaks is nothing less than a miracle," he tweeted. He later expressed his gratitude to The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau and executive producer/director Dave Filoni for giving him the chance to return as Luke after the Star Wars sequel trilogy, saying, "Sometimes the greatest gifts are the most unexpected and something you never realized you wanted until it was given."

Ming-Na Wen, who played the assassin Fennec Shand in The Mandalorian's first two seasons, later praised Hamill for his role in the Season 2 finale, tweeting he was "immensely inspirational [and] impactful to my childhood," before adding "To have shared a scene with you in [The Mandalorian] is truly one of the biggest highlight, not just in my career, but in my life." Hamill returned the compliment to Wen on Twitter, saying he was "literally speechless, other than to say: the pleasure was all mine."

Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Disney+.

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Source: YouTube