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It’s not often the Star Wars fandom comes together to praise a certain aspect of a galaxy far, far away – but The Book of Boba Fett has seemingly achieved the impossible. A certain character’s CGI in the sixth episode of the Disney Plus spin-off series has viewers practically rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
MAJOR spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett episode 6 follow. You have been warned!
Yes, a de-aged Luke Skywalker is back (played by Mark Hamill and stand-in Graham Hamilton) and training Grogu. While the Jedi’s master appearance in The Mandalorian season 2 finale was certainly a welcome surprise, it was a little rough around the edges (and mouth flaps). Lucasfilm, it seems, has been intent on getting the CGI de-aging process right – and it’s paid off in a big way.
Luke Skywalker cameo in The Book of Boba Fett: CGI de-aging reactions
"The CGI for a certain someone in this episode was SOOOOOO much better than it was the last time we saw them. They should honestly go back and redo that first sequence with [Luke Skywalker]," said one excited viewer.
The praise keeps on coming, with the Luke Skywalker CGI being described as "unreal", and there were even calls for the special effects team to get a promotion.
Some were even questioning what they saw in front of their very eyes: "That’s definitely not CGI, they just gave Mark Hamill a youth potion because no way [the CGI] looks [that] good," remarked one. Another commented: “Did they make a time machine or something? So much better!”
There could be another reason why the CGI has, according to one, come "scarily far." Since The Mandalorian season 2 finale, Lucasfilm hired Shamook, the artist responsible for ‘fixing’ Luke Skywalker’s CGI using deepfakes in a hit YouTube video.
At the time, Lucasfilm said (H/T IndieWire) that it was "always on the lookout for talented artists and have in fact hired the artist that goes by the online persona ‘Shamook'. Over the past several years ILM has been investing in both machine learning and A.I. as a means to produce compelling visual effects work and it’s been terrific to see momentum building in this space as the technology advances."
Whether they were involved or not this time around, it's safe to say Lucasfilm has achieved its mission statement.
Discover what's next for Din (And His CGI Friends) with our guide to The Mandalorian season 3.
