Samuel L. Jackson Says Mace Windu is Alive
Samuel L. Jackson wants to trade in Nick Fury’s eyepatch for Mace Windu’s lightsaber. In an exclusive talk with Empire about the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (which is being re-released in theaters this May), the British film magazine asked Jackson about Windu’s death in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Jackson responded with what must have been a loud “HE’S NOT DEAD!!!” (The three exclamation points are from Empire, not me.) When Empire asked him what he’d want Windu to do in a hypothetical Disney+ series centered on the character, Jackson said, “EVERYTHING YES!!” (Again, the multiple exclamation points aren’t from me, though there are only two this time, so Jackson must’ve been slightly more restrained on his second answer.) If you’ll recall, Mace Windu was about to finish off Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith when Anakain chopped his lightsaber-wielding hand off, which allowed Palpatine to fry him with Force Lightning and send him out the window of his office. You may also recall that no one currently working at Lucasfilm cares about that, if they even know it happened or what a “Palpatine” is.
To keep this in perspective, this sounds like Samuel L. Jackson is just having a little fun while reminiscing. I remember when The Phantom Menace was being made; there were articles about Jackson asking George Lucas to be in the movie because he loved Star Wars so much, and Lucas writing a part for him because he was Samuel L. Jackson. He’s a big-time fan, so he was probably caught up in the moment while being asked about a dream fulfilled. However… does that sound like something Lucasfilm wouldn’t do? I’ve seen the Star Wars trilogy many times; I remember the Emperor being vaporized at the end of Return of the Jedi just before the Death Star exploded in space. But he showed up in The Rise of Skywalker with some scratches on his face but otherwise good as new (which I know from online clips because I never saw that movie). I wouldn’t put it past them to say that Mace Windu survived what we all know was a fatal fall, never turned up again for some ridiculous reason no one will buy, and is now headlining a show that will be about as good as the all the other Star Wars trash the studio pumps out. That he’ll have been yet another Jedi to have survived the Order’s supposed destruction means nothing to these people, just like the myriad plot holes his return would generate. And he’d probably be replaced with Tessa Thompson before the show was over.
