2. Max Lloyd-Jones
While many not recognize the name, they certainly will see the resemblance between Lloyd-Jones and Luke Skywalker. That is because he was the one who orchestrated Skywalker’s return in The Mandalorian. To be more precise, Mark Hamill lent the voice to Skywalker, but Jones and a touch of CGI made Skywalker look just like his former self.
It isn’t the first time Disney has taken this approach, as Guy Henry provided the motion capture for Grand Moff Tarkin and Ingvlid Delia did the same in Rogue One. Some are not a fan of this approach, but I have found the results to be quite remarkable. One way of removing the uncanny value issue, however, is by simply letting new actors play the characters themselves. There are very few better physical matches than Lloyd-Jones.
At the same time, there was certainly a reason Disney choose him for the role in the first place. It demands not just a recognizable face but a talented actor behind it too. Could they be preparing fans for the next Skywalker? Perhaps, and Lloyd-Jones fits the bill there, as despite not necessarily being a popular name, he was worked on films like War for the Planet of the Apes and numerous television series including Switched at Birth and When Calls the Heart.
It would be quite a significant leap for him to become Luke Skywalker. Then again, that is how it was for Hamill in the first place. Lloyd-Jones stepped into the role for the first time in a major way with The Mandalorian and I’d love to see what he could do with the opportunity to take that one step further.