The Mandalorian Season 2 delivered some massive moments, from Mando and Cobb Vanth’s battle with the Krayt Dragon to the live-action debut of Ahsoka Tano. The biggest reveal, however, was probably Mark Hamill’s cameo as Luke Skywalker during the season finale. There’s a high level of secrecy involved in any Star Wars production, and that’s certainly the case for The Mandalorian. To that point, Cara Dune actor Gina Carano says she didn’t even know about Luke Skywalker's role until the last minute:
So I started finding out about it in the makeup trailer, basically because you’re like, ‘Oh wait, who’s that?’ And because they didn’t say it in the script. Everyone that has worked on The Mandalorian is 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.
Based on Gina Carano’s comments to Drunk 3PO, the energy on the set of The Mandalorian was high ahead of the Luke Skywalker reveal. But she was totally unaware of what she would be in for when she filmed that fateful scene. The fact that she had no idea so close to shooting is also a testament to how committed Lucasfilm is to keeping things from leaking. Sure, other casting additions like Katee Sackhoff and Temuera Morrison were public knowledge, but the team does deserve credit for concealing a star as big as Mark Hamill.
So much secrecy naturally changes up the way a show operates. Gina Carano went on to call The Mandalorian the “most secretive thing” she’s ever worked on. She then discussed some of the other measures that are taken to prevent leaks:
It’s the most secretive thing that I’ve ever been a part of… being a part of The Mandalorian, to the point where you have to wear cloaks in between studios. Like, big black cloaks so that somebody from the top of the roof doesn’t take pictures… You only get the scripts that you’re in. And they’ve got a name printed out all over it so, if anything ever gets out…
Precautions like these may sound a bit extreme, but they are the most effective way to combat set photo and plot leaks. There are plenty of things for a crew to be protective of, including technology. For instance, while The Mandalorian was in production on its first season, it was reported that equipment was stolen from the camera department. Among the stolen items was a memory card that reportedly held sensitive information. Luckily for Lucasfilm, nothing major leaked ahead of Season 1, not even the impossibly adorable Grogu.
With situations like that to consider, you can bet Lucasfilm isn’t going to be switching up its protocols any time soon. And if that’s what it takes to keep reveals like Luke Skywalker from getting out, then I can’t blame them at all.
The first two seasons of The Mandalorian can be streamed on Disney+.
