With 'Star Wars' alumni making triumphant returns, fans and actors alike are speculating whether the purple lightsaber-wielding Jedi Master, Mace Windu, will join the club.
- April 23, 2025
AceShowbiz - It's been 20 years since the tragic end of Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," but the actor has insisted for nearly a decade that his character survived. Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed episodes of "Star Wars" series like "The Mandalorian", "The Book of Boba Fett", and "Skeleton Crew", seems eager to see the character return to the galaxy far far away.
Howard recalled having a talk with a studio higher-up about the possibility of bringing Windu back. After all, as Howard noted, Windu's death occurred off-screen, leaving room for interpretation.
"Sam Jackson has been incredibly supportive of me and has told me many times that he would act in something I directed, which is like, 'I'm not worthy,' basically," she said on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast.
She revealed she "went straight to Dave Filoni and I was like, 'So, let’s just talk about Mace Windu and where he is. Can we just talk about this?' " She added, "Because is he dead? Is he?"
Back in 2016, Jackson said of his character in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "Of course he is [alive]! Jedi can fall from amazing distances. And there's a long history of one-handed Jedi. So why not?"
Jackson's colleagues from the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy have already made their comebacks: Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor in "The Rise of Skywalker," Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," and Hayden Christensen appearing in "Ahsoka."
Yet, Windu remains out of sight. However, Jackson revealed that even George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars", is open to resurrecting Windu. "George doesn't have anything to do with [Star Wars] anymore. George is like, 'I'm okay with that. You can be alive,' " Jackson mentioned.
The actor passionately doubled down on Windu's survival in a 2024 Empire interview, claiming, "HE'S NOT DEAD!!!" and expressing interest in a Mace Windu-centered Disney+ show.
Jackson's persistence might soon pay off. With discussions at Lucasfilm already initiated by Howard, the possibility of Windu's return, be it as a one-handed Jedi or a Force ghost, seems more plausible than ever. The only question that remains is not if, but when will we see Mace Windu return to the galaxy far, far away?
